Just A Friend
by PepsiSugarBaby
Summary: "You don't love me. You love what I am to you, a good friend." She whispered, "Would a good friend make love to you like I did." he replied, huskily. "Joe stop. Please." she begged. "Would a good friend miss the way your lips taste, the way.." "Joe stop it!" she shouted "The way we came together." he whispered through the phone. "Joe please, what do you want." "I want you"
1. Give You What You Like

**Hello Hello all! Hope y'all enjoy this new story of mine (Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING BUT MY OC).**

 **So stay tuned and see if things stay friendly as they should. Enjoy and Review.**

 **Song for this chapter: Give You What You Like by Avril Lavigne**

* * *

A yawn rang out in the hotel room as the large man occupying the bed woke up to the new day. After rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he leaned over to check his phone on the nightstand.

Nothing, not even a missed call;

Sucking his teeth, making a ' _tch'_ sound; the man rolled over to get out of the bed after putting his phone face down. Not wanting to make the morning any worse for him by missing his meeting, he set off to do his morning routine. After his shower and brushing his teeth, the 6'3 caramel man dressed and pulled his long black hair into a simple man bun. Of course he couldn't forget the essentials; his non-scented deodorant that wouldn't clash with his cologne. Making sure he put on some lotion, especially on his tribal sleeve tattoo that covered the right side of his chest down to his wrist. He still remembered the day he got it finished; he really liked how the artist put the small turtle in the center of his wrist. Only a few people could even see the added symbol and most never see it at all, not unless he wanted them to know.

With a touch of the tattoo on his finger tips, the man sighed as he continued to get ready for the meeting. After grabbing his keys, room key, cell phone, wallet and sunglasses; he headed down to the elevator, hoping the rest of his day wouldn't turn sour.

* * *

"Let's get something to eat bro" said the dirty blonde, pulling on his black leather jacket. "Just coffee and donuts aren't gonna cut it for me." he said shaking his head.

Turning to his friend and wrestling brother, Joe also known as Roman Reigns nodded. "Yeah, you wanna see if Colby wants to come?" he asked, seeing the WWE champ sit at a table texting on his phone.

Shrugging, Jon nodded before cupping his hands over his mouth. "HEY COLBY, BRING YOUR ASS!" he shouted, making the other wrestlers in the cafeteria jump at the sound of his voice.

Colby quickly looked up at the sound of his name yelled out, recognizing it as his ex Shield brother, he chuckled making his way to the two men. "Could you be any louder?" he asked, rolling his eyes at the lunatic.

"I probably can" Jon chuckled, "Come on, me and Joe are gonna go get something to eat. This little shit isn't gonna fill anybody up" he said frowning at the small breakfast being handed out.

"Sounds good, let's go" Colby said following the two men out to the parking lot.

To see the trio act civil with one another would have the fans in a frenzy, social media would be blown up with rumors of the Shield reuniting or something of that nature. But rumors or not that didn't matter to the trio; they would still be brothers no matter what type of script change the bosses wanted. Months of living with each other in hotel rooms, long road trips sometimes across the country and sometimes spending the night at the other's house wasn't all for nothing. They maybe at each others' throats in the ring, but once the cameras were off; they were good friends.

"So what's on your mind guys? Where we headed?" Joe asked as he pulled out the parking lot into traffic.

"How 'bout Applebee's?" Jon suggested while looking on his phone for restaurants.

"Nah," Colby added in, "You know that place will be packed with fans, we wouldn't even get a good chance to eat without pictures and ring rats going crazy."

Joe chuckled, "That comes with the job, my friend." He said still easing through traffic,

"So says the Samoan heartthrob," Jon laughed, "He's just mad about the last time we went to a packed place and a fan caught him with his mouth open."

Joe joined in with Jon as they remembered the picture of Colby with a burger nearly the size of his own head.

"At least I don't have drunk pics on twitter." Colby replied, making Jon flip him off.

"That was NOT my fault!" Jon admitted, "My fans wanted to buy me a couple of shots, I didn't want to be rude and say no." he shrugged

Joe chuckled again, "That wasn't who you wanted to say no to, if I recall there was a cute brunette bartending that night." He said still looking around for a place to eat.

"What about this place? Legal Seafood?" Joe asked, pulling up to the restaurant.

Agreeing with their friend, the two men jumped out the car.

After getting a table, the men realized that this was one of the rare occasions that they could actually sit down and eat and not be trampled by fans.

Once the waitress took their order, Joe noticed that the restaurant wasn't as packed as they thought it would be; strange part about it was they didn't have one fan come towards them.

Joe did enjoy a fan or two coming up to him when he was eating but the feeling was somewhat uneasy.

"Feels weird, don't it?" Jon asked looking around. Colby doing the same, taking an interest at something 3 tables away from them,

Joe shrugged, "Somewhat, but I'd rather eat in peace than have a weird fan girl try and steal my napkin like last time." He chuckled.

"I remember that" Jon snorted, "Crazy chick thought she could create a Roman clone"

Both men chuckled at the memory, as Colby continued to look back at the table.

"What's wrong _uce_?" Joe asked, seeing his little brother act paranoid.

Jon glanced up from his phone at the nervous two tone, "He's probably on that shit. I told you don't go sniffing around Kane's dressing room." He said shaking his head.

Colby rolled his eyes "No dumbass" he huffed, "Cute chick at 6:00." He said glancing back.

Jon sat up in the booth, looking over Colby as Joe leaned over, slightly putting his head in the aisle. Both men saw a young brown skin woman at a table by herself, from the looks of it she was reading over paperwork or pictures as she nibbled on a salad.

Joe shrugged as he righted himself in the booth, Jon doing the same.

"You can barely see her face," Jon complained, "Leave it to you to check out a butterface if she is one."

Colby rolled his eyes again at his blunt friend, "She's not a butterface, when we were coming in I saw her look up. She's really cute." He said glancing back.

Joe chuckled as he shook his head, "Well why don't you go talk to her? She **is** eating alone" he pointed out.

Colby sighed, "And leave you with this lunatic, I think not."

Jon's head shot up at the comment, glaring at Colby "Don't use me as an excuse to not get turned down. Besides, she probably was checking out hunkalicious over here" he said pointing to Joe who was checking his phone.

"What? What about me?" he asked, looking at both men.

"Colby's shitting out." Jon chuckled, "Told him that the chick was probably checking you out when we came in"

"Doubt it, somehow women know a married man. Even if they never see the ring," He said looking at his left hand.

The sight of the black band on his ring finger made his stomach slightly churn at the thoughts he had when he saw no messages on his phone that morning. His wife used to call him every night before she went to sleep and even when she didn't call she would still manage to send him a message regarding her or their daughter. But for a few days his phone has been drier than the Sahara desert.

Jon snorted, placing his phone down. "Not all my friend, speaking of which. How's the little lady?" he asked, referring to his Goddaughter; Jasmine.

Joe smiled at the thought of his beautiful daughter and her grey eyes that matched his own. "She's good," he sighed "At least the last time I heard her voice she was." he said putting his elbows on the table, placing his forehead on his hands; the image seemed as if he was praying for a sign.

"Janice still acting out?" Colby asked, reclining in the booth.

The men grew silent when the waitress brought them their drinks and food, knowing well enough that their private lives were barely all they had when it came to certain fans. After the waitress left the table, Joe sighed and shrugged.

"She's still not accepting to the lifestyle. She used to call late at night crying about how she was lonely and wanted me to come home. One time she even got Jasmine to try and guilt trip me to come home, but now I honestly don't know. I haven't heard from her in a week." he said beginning to eat his food,

"Well, she's gonna have to deal with it" Jon said before taking a sip of his root beer. "She married ya, she's gonna have to deal with the pros and cons of being a wrestler's wife. We can't just take them with us on the road all the time," he shrugged, "And it's probably nothing that she's not calling. Maybe she dropped her phone or something."

Both men nodded, knowing the rules and regulations of the business. It was just like a regular job, sometimes you would hate it and other times you would love it but the results were all the same; you'd get paid. And for the three men at the table they got paid for something they loved to do, but at what cost.

* * *

After finishing their meal, they knew they had time to spare before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the show.

"Alright, I'm gonna head to the bathroom then we can get outta here" Joe said getting up from the booth.

Just as he stepped out, he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry" he said turning to face the person he managed to knock off their feet.

"It's fine" she chuckled, moving her burgundy bangs from her face.

Joe could feel a smirk come on his face as he extended his hand out to the young woman, helping her up.

"I guess that's why they say don't text and walk" she giggled, dusting her pants off. "Excuse me" she said before moving around the large Samoan who stood still at the sight of the young woman.

"Damn, Colby should've tried that" Jon chuckled. "Corny as shit, but effective" he said glancing at the retreating backside of the young mocha skin woman. "For once you were right Colb; she's a cutie with a sexy booty."

Joe chuckled, before biting his bottom lip as he caught the swing of the young woman's curvy hips as he walked to the same direction.

Coming back from the restroom was something strange as well, just as Joe exited the men's room the same woman exited the women's restroom; making them bump into one another again.

"We gotta stop meeting like this" Joe chuckled, looking down at the young woman that came up to his chest.

"I know, what will people say?" she giggled, placing her hand on her chest as if she was offended before giggling again and made her way back to her table.

Once again, Joe caught himself staring at the young woman's ass. She wasn't at all bad looking; she was anything but a butterface. A burgundy bob that went to her shoulders, making her mocha skin stand out as well as her cute almond shape brown eyes, a curvy hourglass figure, literally her hips went out to her shoulders; making the wrestler lick his lips at the sight of her walk away from him.

Joe had to quickly catch himself as he wondered if she was wearing one of those waist shapers to have such a figure.

Making it back to the table, he saw Colby sitting on his phone texting away; he already knew where Jon was. Outside smoking again,

Shaking his head, Joe grabbed his wallet and placed down his part of the bill as Colby shuffled out of the booth.

"Butterface my ass" Joe heard Colby say as he made his way out to the car.

Joe glanced back at the table where the young woman was still sitting at. As by chance, she looked up at him; catching each others' eyes. Giving him a small smile, she lightly waved at him.

Joe couldn't help but smile back, giving the cutie a wink before leaving the restaurant. Not expecting to see her again,


	2. Unsteady

**Hello Hello y'all! Just a small announcement and the Disclaimer; first off yes I am using their real names (Only the shield). Usually I don't like doing that but with this specific tale I couldn't resist. Also several of you might be confused on the timeline of the matches and such (Example in the last chapter, Seth aka Colby is WWE Champ.)Well this is before Joe wins the title and such, please don't get upset if I get some matches wrong; my main concern is Joe and my OC. But I will try and get some of it right. Anyways, DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING OTHER THAN MY OC.**

 **Without further delay, here's chapter two.**

 **Song for the chapter: "Unsteady" by X Ambassadors , …..P.S: There's a little "sorpresa" added for my lovely P.S.B followers and my fellow Roman lovers.**

* * *

'Just a few more days' Joe thought as he did his 30th chin up.

Just 2 weeks and he would be home in Florida. He would be home with his wife and his little girl, just the thought of seeing his daughter made a smile appear on his face.

But that wasn't the only thing that made him smile, a pair of brown eyes hidden behind a burgundy bob with a smile that somehow made his sour morning turn into a sweet day. It had been 4 weeks since he last saw her brown eyes. Somehow he couldn't get her eyes, as ordinary as they were, out of his mind.

Dropping to the floor, Joe wiped his forehead with his towel. 'She was cute, but I doubt I would see her again' he thought finishing up his workout before heading back to the hotel.

* * *

Just as Joe made it back to his room, his phone rang out. Quickly he pulled out his phone, swiping his thumb on the green to answer.

"Hello?"

 _"_ _Daddy?"_

In seconds, Joe felt like doing cartwheels. He hadn't heard his little girl's voice in so long, he nearly forgot how light and gentle her little voice was. "Hey Jazzy, what's going on baby" he asked excitedly.

 _"_ _Nothing...I made you a picture daddy."_ She said softly, her voice sounding like she was smiling.

Joe smiled as he held back his tears; he had missed his angel so much. It had been weeks since he last spoken or seen her. But that didn't matter at the moment, he would deal with that later; right now he would sit and enjoy talking with his favorite girl. "That's good baby, where's mommy?"

The phone suddenly grew silent making Joe feel uneasy, quickly glancing at the screen Joe saw the call was still going on. With the idea of the call dropping gone, he now wondered why did his daughter go stiff when he mentioned her mother.

"Jasmine," He said firmly, his daughter knew the tone of his voice when he wasn't joking anymore.

 _"_ _Yes daddy,"_ she said lightly, not answering the question.

"Where's mommy?" Joe asked again, glancing at his phone again; noticing it was an unknown number.

Just as Joe put the phone back to his ear, he heard his daughter sniff as if she was crying.

"Baby why you crying?" he asked, feeling more and more confused.

 _"_ _Mommy went out, she said I couldn't use my phone unless...it was…an...em…emergency."_ Jasmine sniffed as she wiped away her tears her daddy didn't see. _"But…but you said ….to call you when I miss you, and mommy left…the phone on the charger..."_ Jasmine cried, hiccupping between nearly every word.

Joe could feel his hand ball up into a fist at the idea of his wife leaving their daughter alone, not to mention all the times he tried calling and never getting an answer. Now his theory of her ignoring him seemed more and more real, but why would she torture their daughter by not letting her talk to him?

'One step at a time Joe' he thought before calming his daughter down. "It's alright sweetie," he said gently, "Who's at the house with you?" he asked, trying to sound calm and not make his daughter anymore upset.

 _"_ _Nonna,"_ she sniffed, wiping her eyes _"Daddy, am…am I in trouble?"_

Joe couldn't help but chuckle at his daughter's light little voice, "No sweetie, you're not in trouble. But when did mommy get you a phone?" he asked, growing curious about his 6 year old getting a phone without him knowing about it.

 _"_ _A few days ago, she said I'm a big girl and I needed a phone. But mommy uses it sometimes"_ she explained, Joe could tell she calmed down a little; hearing a few hiccups from his baby girl.

His daughter maybe calm, but Joe was anything but the word. He was upset, mad, pissed, furious, frustrated, aggravated, disturbed; but mostly he was confused. He was confused on what his wife was thinking, even though she left their daughter with his mother, he still was curious as to why she didn't take Jasmine with her.

Joe could feel his rage burn in his stomach like he just ate a ghost pepper. But he knew he had to calm down, his daughter was looking for him to comfort her and he would do just that. There would be a cold day in hell when he would let his rage take over in front of his daughter; he wouldn't be able to live with himself if his daughter was scared of him.

"Baby, can you give the phone to **_nonna_** please. I need to speak with her for a minute okay?" he said softly with his eyes closed, thinking on what he could do from where he was.

 _"_ _Ok daddy"_

Joe sighed as he kept the phone to his ear,

How could Janice do something so stupid as to give a 6 year old a phone and not tell him! Yes it was the 21st century and kids all over had tablets and IPods but Joe refused to have his child become a mindless zombie, constantly on her phone and exposed to everything online. She was just a kid and she would be a kid until he said otherwise.

 _"_ _Hello?"_

Recognizing the voice, Joe let go of a breath he never knew he was holding.

"Ma, its Joe." He said standing on his feet, staring to pace.

He heard his mother sigh in relief before she spoke, " _Aye, thank God. Jazzy comes into the kitchen with a phone I've never seen before and she said daddy wants to talk to me. I didn't know what to think_." She said in one breath, " _Leati, what were you thinking getting this child a phone!_ " his mother began to fuss at him.

Joe sighed as his mother went on and on about child perverts and other sickos out there that could try and get their hands on his daughter. The more his mother went on, the more Joe could feel his blood pressure go up. He didn't need this type of stress!

 _"_ _Leati! Leati Joseph Anoa'i! Answer me when I ask you a question! Why did you get Jasmine a phone?_ **_Rispondi alla domanda_** _(Answer the question)!"_ she fussed in Italian, calling out his full name. Joe knew he was in for the ass chewing of a lifetime if he didn't explain soon.

Joe shook his head as he took a deep breath, "Ma, I didn't get her the phone. I didn't even know she had a phone until she called me just a few minutes ago." Joe explained. " ** _Non sapevo_** _(I didn't know)_ "

Joe heard his mother sigh on the other end, before hearing a chair squeak. Joe sighed as he did the same and sat down on his bed, this was something both were NOT expecting his wife to do. She literally bought their daughter a phone and kept it a secret from everyone including himself.

"Ma, **_cosa sta succedendo_** (what's going on), **_dove di Janice_** (where's Janice)?" Joe said, trying to calm down.

His mother knew when he didn't want his daughter to know what they were talking about they would speak in Italian, yes it was sometimes unfair but it made sure his little girl would remain oblivious in any adult situation until she learned the language; which he was sure his mother was teaching her but only the basics. So it seemed safe to say she wouldn't know what they were saying.

" ** _Lei detto usciva con degli amici_** (She said she was going out with friends)," he heard his mother sigh, probably rubbing her forehead to ease the headache, " ** _shopping e cosa no_** (shopping and what not)"

" ** _Quanto tempo fa_** , (How long ago)?" Joe asked, rubbing his own temple.

" ** _Stamattina_** (this morning)" his mother replied, making Joe bite his bottom lip to hold back the curse words he wished he could say. With his own mother on the phone, he wouldn't say anything that would get him slapped upside the head when he came home.

Turning his wrist, Joe looked at his watch and saw that it was nearly 3. " ** _Lei è andata per 6 ore_** (she went for 6 hours)?"

" ** _Non ho sentito da lei da quando aveva lasciato_** (I have not heard from her since she left)" his mother admitted,

Joe let out a heavy sigh, contemplating on coming home early and dealing with all the madness; but then he would have to answer to his parents who constantly tell him that he has a job to do and a daughter to provide for. As he ran his fingers through the front of his hair, Joe knew what the answer was to his internal battle. He would have to suck it up until he made it home, then and only then he would deal with things.

" ** _Grazie mama_** (Thanks mama), **_può Jasmine stare con te e papà mentre sono via_**? (Jasmine can be with you and dad while I'm gone?)" he asked, already knowing the answer.

" ** _Certamente_** _(_ of course) **_Mi metterò le sue cose in questo momento_** (I will get her things at this time)" his mother replied.

Joe couldn't help but have a small smile on his face, " ** _Grazie ancora mamma_** (thanks again mom)"

" ** _Pensare nulla di esso Leati_** (think nothing of it Leati) **_Vorresti parlare con Jasmine di nuovo_** (You want to talk to Jasmine again)" she asked, knowing he did. A mother knows, of course.

" ** _Sì, ti amo mamma_** (yeah, love you mom)" Joe said with a sigh, glad that he had his family support, especially his mother checking in on his wife and daughter while he was out of town.

" ** _Ti amo anch'io_** (I love you too). Jasmine, ** _tuo padre vuole parlare con te_** (Your father wants to talk to you)" she said passing the phone to her granddaughter.

" ** _Si papa_** (yes daddy)" Jasmine said sweetly,

Joe felt his face drop in shock when his mother spoke to Jasmine in Italian; he smiled, proud that his daughter was learning the language of his mother but also hoping she didn't hear the full conversation.

'Jazzy knows better, she's smarter than she lets on and she is respectful.' He thought,

Even with that in mind, Joe couldn't help but think that the cat's outta the bag. But knowing his mother, she probably sent Jas into the other room while the adults talked.

"So, nonna is teaching you Italian." Joe chuckled, knowing he couldn't stay mad at his daughter.

Jasmine giggled, "Si"

Joe smiled, his little angel was learning so much; he just prayed she learned the right things and not the wrong. It was times like this that were the hardest on him; his little girl was growing up and he was missing out on it.

" ** _Mi manchi il mio angelo, sarò presto a casa_** (I miss you my angel, I'll be home soon)" he said lightly, feeling a small tear fall from his eye.

" ** _Mi manchi troppo papa_** (I miss you too daddy)" Jasmine replied, her soft voice sounding like she was smiling.

Joe couldn't help a few more tears coming out at his daughter's reply. Soon she would be going on dates and to dances, but those days were far away and if Joe had any say in it; his little girl would remain a little girl until she was 40.

" ** _Essere buono per nonna e nonno. Ti amo_** (be good for the grandparents. I love you)" Joe said, trying to sound happy for his daughter.

" ** _Lo farò. Ti amo troppo papa_** (I will do it. I love you too daddy)" Jasmine smiled, her nonna smiling back; substituting for her father at the moment.

" ** _Bye mio angelo_** (bye my angel)" Joe said, trying to hold back the rest of his emotions.

"Bye **_papà_** "

Once his daughter was off the phone, Joe fell back onto his bed. That was something he wasn't expecting, he was definitely thrilled to hear from his angel but from an unknown phone that his wife had just gotten their daughter. What was going on in his house when he wasn't around?

After a quick prayer for strength and guidance, Joe grabbed his bag to head to the arena for the last show before heading to Georgia then to Florida where he can get all this settled out.

* * *

 **I know, I know several of y'all are slightly pissed at me for not including the mystery woman. But in due time, she'll appear. But for now, let's just hope things will work out for Joe and his daughter. Poor Jasmine, the little lady was pretty much scared that she would get in trouble for using the phone. But she hasn't seen or heard from her dad in weeks, the little girl mainly just wanted to talk to her daddy. But why wouldn't Janice speak to Joe? Or even let him speak to his daughter?**

 **Stay tuned for the next chapter to Just A Friend.**


	3. Brown Eyes

**Hey hey y'all, so in the last chapter I wanted to include Joe's** **ethnicity. Being that he's both Italian and Samoan, I wanted my Joe to be a little different then the other Joe fics I've read. And the thought of him speaking a sexy language, UGH I couldn't resist. Sorry it took so long for the updated chapters but I had to make sure the translation made sense and was correct. Now about this chapter, several of you are wondering about the mysterious brown eyed woman. Well I hope I don't disappoint because here she is!**

 **Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING BUT MY OC.**

 **Songs for this chapter is of course, "Waves" by Mr. Probz & "In Common" by Alicia Keys. **

**Enjoy & Review**

* * *

 _("Waves" by Mr. Probz)_

Jon glanced at his friend from the driver's seat. For two hours, Joe hasn't said one word to the other two men in the car. At first they thought he was sick or just didn't brush his teeth, but this was serious.

The more Jon looked at him the more it seemed like something was indeed wrong with his brother.

"You alright bro?" Jon asked, breaking the silence.

Joe didn't answer, neither did Colby but that was because of another reason all together; he was asleep. Joe could feel his friend's eyes on him when they should be focused on the road. Most of the time, he trusted Jon with his life when they used to drive across highways; but with him looking his way every couple of minutes Joe felt like he would take the chance of a crazy fan girl screaming in his ear than ride with the lunatic if he kept his eyes away from the road.

Jon sighed as he pulled out a cigarette, still keeping one hand on the wheel. "Look, if you won't talk. I got ways of making ya" he threatened, holding the lighter up.

Joe quickly looked at Jon; he knew how he felt about smoking. Joe sneered as he pulled the cigarette from Jon's lips then tossed it out the window.

"Hey! I didn't even light it yet" Jon complained, glancing at Joe.

"Don't care" Joe said deeply, putting his focus back on the world outside his window.

Jon sighed again, "You owe me a cigarette then." He said trying to get his friend to talk.

Joe continued to ignore Jon as he stared at a picture of him and his daughter on her 5th birthday.

"Joe, Jasmine's ok?" he asked, all jokes aside.

Joe stared out the window before letting out a heavy sigh. "She's fine, she's got a phone now" he said deeply, rubbing his index finger over his trimmed short beard. A habit Jon noticed in the beginning, it was a sure sign that Joe was thinking and he wasn't too happy with what went through his mind.

Jon's eyebrows ruffled together as he tried to process what Joe had just told him, his little 6 year old goddaughter had a cell phone? "What does she have a cell phone for?" he asked,

Joe shrugged, his gaze never leaving the window. "That's what I wanna know. Surprisingly, my wife bought her one and failed to inform me about it. Since I'm probably the one paying the damn bill, why shouldn't I know about something that might expose my daughter to things I've been trying to protect her from?!" Joe huffed, "She's fucking 6! What does she need a phone for? And then I hear that Janice left her all day? I had to hear that from my mom _uce_ , I don't even know what's going on at my own house" Joe said crossing his arms over his chest, while he bit his thumb nail.

Jon shook his head as he kept his eyes on the road. "That's fucked up Joe; I mean why did Janice leave in the first place?"

"My mom said she was out with some friends shopping or something. But she couldn't call me to say that my daughter misses me. I mean I know I had to be tough on her in the beginning when she begged me to come home, but this time is different. She's completely ignoring me and I don't know why!" Joe nearly yelled, causing Colby to jump up in the backseat.

"What's going on? Are we there yet?" the two toned man asked drowsy, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"No," Jon answered, gazing in the rearview at his sleepy little brother. "Go back to sleep Colb," he said, not having to say it twice since the two toned fell back on the seat.

Jon shook his head as he lightly chuckled at the wrestling ninja, hearing his snores echo through the car again. Joe on the other hand, wasn't in the laughing mood. He was confused; yes he understood the safeties of their daughter knowing how to use a phone but she was still too young to have the responsibility of having one. She was 6 for God's sake, who was she gonna call? Elmo?

Joe sighed as he rubbed his hands over his face, 'Just a week and all of this will be handled' he thought, glancing back at the window.

Jon could tell his brother was having a battle on the fact of his daughter having a phone, hell if he had a kid; they wouldn't have a cell phone until they could pay the bill. So much was at the touch of a finger now a days, Jon understood why Joe was so upset. Just last year for his goddaughter's birthday, she was given a tablet but it was made for kids; even then Joe didn't freak out since he saw it was a child's tablet and that wouldn't show anything explicit to his little girl. But this was different; Joe had a reason to freak out. Jon sighed as he tried to keep his thoughts from going south. He honestly didn't want to blurt out what he was really thinking on the matter of his friend's wife getting a secret cell phone.

" Joe, it's gonna be alright bro." Jon said lightly punching his shoulder,

Nodding his head, Joe mumbled "Yeah, I hope so"

* * *

 _("In Common" by Alicia Keys)_

"And 5...6…7…8!"

On the 8th count, she flipped her burgundy hair over her shoulder as her arms reached for the ceiling. The beat of the song made her feet jump as if she was tapping her feet in water. Dragging her right leg back to her left then doing the same on the other side to the beat, her burgundy bangs nearly covered her face; giving her a sultry look as she began to pop her hips.

Once she started her 'Shakira hip shake' as she called it, the other dancers formed a circle around the burgundy brown skin as she began to roll her body like she was riding the beat like a wave. With a wide smile, she saw her male instructor come up beside her; copying her moves.

Still with her bright smile, the young mocha woman and her instructor mirrored each other's movements as if they practiced it for years and not the hours they actually did. Ending the dance in a death drop, laughter and applause rang out in the studio.

"Amazing job everyone," Derrick laughed, getting off the floor and offering his friend a hand. "You alright Ashlyn?" he asked still chuckling,

Grabbing Derrick's hand, Ashlyn tried to pull herself to her feet but managed to bring both her and Derrick tumbling back onto the ground in a laughing fit.

Tara, one of Ashlyn's friends, quickly tried to help the still chuckling pair while the other students tried to stop laughing; but only managed to get herself on the ground with the two after being tripped by Derrick's leg.

In anyone's opinion, Ashlyn was a graceful klutz. She could move with the best, on beat as if her heart had the same tempo; but once the music stopped she was all left feet. She never took it to heart, to everyone's surprise the klutz laughed about it; saying that she was the epitome of music being life. ' _For if there wasn't a beat, wouldn't our hearts stop_?' she would always say.

Derrick chuckled as he rolled over onto his back, his tan caramel body covered in sweat from the last dance session. Shaking his head, he turned to the person laying on the floor beside him; still giggling like a little kid.

"Lyn, can you ever walk without falling over air?" he joked, teasing the almond shaped brown eyed girl.

Placing her hands on her stomach as she eased her giggling, Ashlyn shook her head no. "I don't think I could. I'm accident prone, remember." She said leaning on her elbows, sitting up

"How could anyone forget!" Tara exclaimed, lightly giggling as she sat up.

As the rest of the dancers waved at the trio, signaling that they were leaving; the friends continued to sit on the hardwood floor.

"So," Ashlyn asked, looking at Derrick then Tara. "Who's getting up first?" she smiled,

Tara quickly jumped to her feet, "Certainly not you, I've already got enough bruises from the last incident." She said helping Derrick up, leaving Ashlyn alone on the floor to pout.

"That wasn't my fault! You don't just creep up on people when they're cooking." Ashlyn said poking her lips out, still pouting.

Tara sighed as she and Derrick stood over their friend, "You beat me with a rolling pin!"

Ashlyn rolled her eyes at her friends; still chuckling Derrick and the ever teasing Tara. "It was plastic and hollow and for the record, you snuck up when I had my earphones in. So the fault pretty much is yours" she said pulling her knees to her chest, resting her arms on top of them.

"How is it my fault?" Tara asked, wide eyed.

Derrick, of course couldn't take anymore of this chick chatter. "Ladies, please." He said, nearly shouting over them. "Now, I don't know about either of y'all but I got a date with a hot shower and my bed." He said looking between both women, "Y'all can continue this conversation, but not here; not unless you want to talk in the dark." he chuckled before walking to gather his bag.

Quickly the two women followed their instructor/friend as they packed their things up as well. Glancing over her shoulder, Ashlyn looked for anything she might have left behind. Once it was all clear, the three left the studio to the parking lot.

"So got anything tonight?" Tara asked the two, as they walked to their vehicles.

Shaking her bangs out her face again, Ashlyn shrugged "My little cousin wants to go see some show tonight, but that's it"

"A show?" Derrick asked, butting in, "Uh oh, Lyn's gonna go see them freaks on the poles" he said doing a little booty pop on her.

Laughing, Ashlyn lightly pushed Derrick away; nearly making her fall over again if Tara hadn't caught her arm.

"Thanks Tar," she smiled before turning to Derrick, "And no sir, not that kinda show. It's a wrestling show he's been dying to go to. And since his little girlfriend is being a female dog at the moment, he didn't want to waste the ticket." She shrugged.

Both nodded at their friend, knowing she was somewhat a fan of wrestling. Key word, **SOMEWHAT** ; if drooling over grown oiled up muscular men with nothing but a small piece of elastic cloth cover their neither regions made you a fan, then Ashlyn was a fan alright.

"Don't end up killing someone" Tara chuckled as she threw her bag into the backseat of her car, while Ashlyn leaned on her 2015 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. "Especially a wrestler" she giggled, leaning on her car; Derrick doing the same on her trunk.

"I'll be fine; you guys worry too much about me. I'm not that clumsy" Ashlyn said getting on her bike, after securing her bag on her back.

Tara rolled her eyes as Derrick chuckled, "I'll stop worrying when you find a man for your crazy ass. Maybe he'll balance you out"

Shaking her head, Ashlyn put on her helmet before starting her motor. After a short wave to her friends, Ashlyn took off out the parking lot and down the street.

* * *

Joe silently leaned on his arms on the counter, with his head down. So much pressure was building up inside him; he was starting to feel like he had no one to turn to. Of course he had his brothers, but sometimes that wasn't enough. He missed his wife, he missed his daughter; so much fame just to feel so hollow.

The cheering of the fans were amazing support…. when he was in the ring, but he also wished he had that support when he was just regular Joe Anoa'i and not the Samoan superman, Roman Reigns.

Looking into the mirror, Joe saw the person he didn't want to be at the moment; Roman Reigns. They were the same, yet so different. With Roman's cold steel glare that made his opponents shiver in fear; Joe was told he had a warm gaze like he was a big teddy bear.

Roman didn't take anyone's shit and held grudges, while Joe believed in second chances and compassion even in doubtful situations. Only a few people he worked with called him Joe, while the rest didn't even care to know his real name; continued to call him Roman, even outside of work.

Well if they wanted Roman Reigns, then they would get Roman Reigns; but to his closest friends and family, he was plain old Joe, only to his parents he was Leati.

He just wished for some kind of support, an anchor in this stressful sea he was drowning in. Just as he closed his eyes, he saw a smile that lit up the room; a pair of brown eyes that were so warm and full of life. Feeling a smile come to his face, Joe opened his eyes; lifting them up to look in the mirror again. The reflection facing him didn't change, but it didn't seem like it bothered him as much as it did before.

Just the small memory of a smiling face and warm eyes made his entire demeanor feel at ease. He knew it was a sin to think about another woman, but if the thought calmed him then there wasn't much he could do. He truly felt awful when he thought on his daughter at the beginning of the night; the image of his beautiful angel's face made him more upset that he couldn't protect her like he wanted to.

But when he thought on a certain young woman with soft mocha brown skin, dark burgundy hair that nearly covered her beautiful brown eyes; he felt his whole being relax.

What was he doing? He was a married man; he was supposed to be supportive, loving and faithful. With a simple memory, Joe never felt more confused but was drawn out of his thought when there was a knock on the door.

"5 minutes Roman" the tech said quickly,

Nodding as he made his way out his locker room. On the way to the steps where he would make his entrance, Joe kept his mind clear; hoping that would help.

Pouring the cool water on his hair did help a little but not much, his mind was still swirling with questions. Quickly falling to one knee, Joe prayed for a good show and that all would fall into place for him.

At the sound of his music, Joe jumped up to his feet; bouncing on one then the other. Hearing the sounds of his music made his mind suddenly clear of everything that was troubling him, he didn't feel like Joe; Roman was running the show.

* * *

"You enjoying the show?" he asked Ashlyn, trying to shout over the music.

She nodded to her little cousin, who was serious acting like the little kid she knew he was. To anyone looking at the pair, they would think she was the little cousin; by the size of the tall, buff Hawaiian sitting next to the short light brown skinned female.

Shaking her head with a small smile, Ashlyn watched the matches go on through the night as her cousin, Bryce cheered for his favorites. She had to admit, his girlfriend was missing out; front row seats and then backstage V.I.P passes for a meet and greet.

'What girl would turn this down?' Ashlyn thought, just as the sound of heavy guitars rang out through the stadium.

Quickly standing up with her cousin, Ashlyn remembered that specific intro was the Shield's song before. As she looked up at the steps, she didn't see three men; she saw just one. Him,

Ashlyn felt her eyes nearly pop out her head! It was that big guy from the restaurant when she was in Virginia,

'Wow, he really can bad boy up; can't he?' she thought as she watched him step down the stairs, towards her and Bryce.

Frozen, Ashlyn saw him glance down at her before fist bumping her cousin and jumping over the barricades. How could she have not known that she bumped into the WWE superstar Roman Reigns, twice!

Lightly smirking as she leaned over onto the barricades, 'Crazy world, I guess' she thought, watching the handsome man stand on the ropes, raising his fists to his fans like a king to his subjects.

'What an ego' Ashlyn thought, smirking. Not knowing a pair of grey eyes looking in her direction, waiting just for that smile.

* * *

As the show went on, Joe was honestly satisfied that he was doing a tag team match with Jon. He leaned over the rope from his corner, with his back to the announcer table. It was kinda the perfect spot where he could see both the match in front of him and the burgundy haired woman from his peripheral vision.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw she was leaning on the barricades; her shirt showing nearly a full cleavage. Either she was doing it on purpose or not; Joe really didn't care, he was enjoying the view. That was until Jon tagged him in to finish off the match for them.

With their victory sealed, he and Jon stood on the ropes; letting the fans get a good picture of them. Joe couldn't help but smirk when he saw brown eyes pull out her phone to take his picture. Once that was over with, Joe and Jon made their way back to the steps the way they came. As Joe was passing pretty brown eyes, he let his hand drift over; slightly rubbing her leg nonchalantly. He couldn't help but grin when he saw her freeze at his touch, but he kept walking as if nothing happened. Joe couldn't figure out why the simple touch of her made him want more. Just a smile and a swipe of his hand were all he had to accept at the moment, right now he had to get ready for the meet and greet.


	4. Author's Note

**Hello Hello y'all!**

 **(I know it's not a chapter but a song for me right now would be "The Sun Is Rising" by Britt Nicole.)**

 **I know several of y'all are anxiously waiting for the update of "Just A Friend" and I do apologize for not getting to things sooner but a lot is going on right now for me. Some times all you have to do is sit and take it when life wants to play you in Russian roulette with obstacles instead of bullets.**

 **But it won't stop me from updating both stories, because just like I put in my profile; we're all here to escape the harsh reality of life and have an adventure for a few hours. And seeing the favorites, follows and reviews are like a comforting hug from each of y'all to keep me going. So thank you to the ones who are doing just that. It's more than enough for me.**

 **Well...that's enough from my harsh reality, once again thanks to all who are faving, following, and giving reviews. You make this crazy life of mine a bit easy with the encouragement.**

 **Keeping checking me out for new stories, but mainly "Just A Friend" & "Hiding In Plain Sight" right now. **

**Much love and blessings to you all,**

 **~PepsiSugarBaby~**


	5. Just Say It

**Song for this chapter: "Say It" by Tory Lanez.**

* * *

 **ASHLYN**

I know Bryce was speaking to me about something, but I just couldn't hear him. It was like every other sound in the building was muffled and everyone blurred away, except for me and the Samoan hunk that was walking up the stairs until he was out of sight.

'Oh my God, I'm fan girling' I embarrassedly thought, putting my hand on my face.

"Hey! You alright Lyn?"

Turning to face my little **BIG** cousin, I lightly smiled to cover up the unsure feeling I had.

"I'm fine cuz," I said shrugging my shoulders, "I just need to go to the bathroom" I lied, before walking up the same stairs I saw the two wrestlers take.

I didn't know why but I suddenly felt….nervous. I mean I know he's a big wrestling celebrity but it's not like I embarrassed myself.

Suddenly I stopped when I tried to remember every detail on what happened that day; after replaying it a few times in my mind it was official….I was, as usual, a complete klutz!

'Oh wow, this is gonna be interesting' I thought entering the women's bathroom.

As I did a few touch ups on my face and hair, I couldn't help but sigh. No matter what I did, my face was not gonna change. No matter how much makeup I put on or what color and how I styled my hair, it was always the same….plain.

"Maybe he won't remember me" I sighed, "He probably sees several women with the same hair all the time, what's the difference with me?" I said before exiting the bathroom.

When I made it back to my seat, Bryce was already shouting about something the wrestlers were doing wrong along with a few other fans. Honestly I couldn't care at all what was going on at the moment, I was too busy repeating a certain mantra in my head ' _He probably doesn't remember me,_ ' hopefully he didn't.

* * *

After his shower, Joe quickly got dressed in a t-shirt with his logo and a pair of black jeans. He honestly couldn't believe his luck, seeing the burgundy haired woman at the show was something he wasn't expecting. Slightly smirking, he thought back on how she smiled when she saw him.

Deep in his thoughts he didn't hear Jon come into his dressing room.

"What's got you grinning?" Jon said, making Joe lightly jump.

Joe lightly chuckled as he brushed his hair into his signature man bun. "Nothing, just thinking on the show." He lied,

Jon shrugged before leaning on the wall beside his friend, "Hey, you remember that sexy ass you knocked over in that restaurant?"

Joe paused briefly, "The chick with the dark red hair?" he said, pretending he didn't remember as he put on his fingerless gloves.

"Yeah that one from Virginia a few weeks ago" Jon said, smirking "I saw her in the front row when I tagged you in."

"How do you know it was her?" Joe asked, knowing it was without doubt her.

Jon scoffed as he ran his fingers through his damp hair. "How could you NOT know it was her, not every chick's got hips like that!"

Joe smirked at his crazy friend as he took a seat on the couch,

"I think she's gonna be at the meet and greet" Jon continued, "She was in the V.I.P seats; maybe Colby won't shit out again." he chuckled, "But if he does then I surely don't mind seeing if she likes a taste of the white chocolate" he said licking his finger, using it to straighten his right eyebrow then the left.

Joe couldn't help but let out a loud laugh, "White chocolate?" he asked, looking at his friend to see if he was serious.

"What?" Jon shrugged, smirking "You think you're the only sexy motherfucker here? I just found out I have a fan page dedicated to how sexy my ass is, bro" Jon said with a grin as he sat in a folding chair across from Joe.

Joe snorted as he leaned his head down, "Dude, too much info" he said shaking his head before checking his phone.

Just as quick as the laughter came in, it left. In Joe's inbox was a message from his mother, it was a picture of Jasmine asleep on the couch with the TV on. Joe felt a smirk form on his face when he saw the caption, ' **Wouldn't go to sleep until she saw you** '

Joe chuckled before showing Jon the picture,

"Aw, little rugrat's pooped out" Jon said smiling at the picture of his goddaughter. "Can't wait to see her, she's getting big" he said leaning back.

Joe nodded, "Yeah, she is." He smiled, looking at the picture again before saving it to his phone.

"Let's just hope she doesn't get your height," Jon joked,

Joe chuckled, thinking about his daughter growing up. It was inevitable that Jasmine was gonna get taller, it was in her genes of course. In the end Joe knew she would either be as tall as his cousin, Tamina or one of his sisters.

"Nah" Joe said shaking his head, "She'd be more like Tamina or Mary" he said checking the time before getting to his feet.

"Come on, let's head down there." he said referring to the meet and greet, heading to the door with Jon at his heels.

"I hope sexy ass is there" Jon smirked, lightly jogging beside Joe who chuckled at his lunatic friend.

'You and me both' Joe thought as they made their way to the backroom where the event would be held.

* * *

Once the show was over, Bryce and Ashlyn followed security to the designated area where they would meet the superstars. On the way, Ashlyn kept looking around as if she was looking for someone.

"You alright cuz?" Bryce asked, after they turned a corner.

Jerking her head to him, Ashlyn smiled "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just a little excited, it's not every day you meet a wrestling celeb." She shrugged,

Bryce nodded, taking her answer.

"By the way, why did you want to bring your girlfriend to a wrestling match?" Ashlyn asked, "This is pretty big for a date, were you planning something else?"

Bryce sighed when his cousin brought up his girlfriend, "Don't get mad, but….I was planning on proposing to her" he said slightly upset.

"Proposing?" Ashlyn nearly shouted, pulling her cousin by his arm; making both of them stop in the hallway. "Are you serious? You've only been dating this chick for what? 2 months? And all she's ever done, from what you've told me, is be a pain in your side but a warm body in your bed." She said shaking her head.

Bryce sneered when he heard his cousin's honest opinion, "She's just stressed, you wouldn't understand" he said starting to walk away from her.

"Then tell me so I can" Ashlyn said firmly, grabbing his ear like she used to when they were young. "You tell me everything, what's so different now?"

"Man, get back!" he exclaimed, lightly pushing Ashlyn back "I said you wouldn't understand, so why bother?" he said quickly walking to catch up with the security guard.

Ashlyn sighed as she shook her head while jogging to keep up with her upset cousin. "Look, you say I might not understand what's going on. But I'm your cousin; we pretty much grew up together like siblings. You don't have to tell me right now, but I'm not letting this go little shit" she huffed, looking straight ahead.

The rest of the walk was quiet, but Ashlyn knew she got through to her cousin. He maybe stubborn, but so was she.

* * *

Stopping at a pair of double doors, the security guard turned to the cousins.

"Alright, just a few things before I let y'all go inside. First, don't upset the wrestlers; most of them just gone through hell tonight and probably won't stay too long. Second, there are shirts and other merchandise for the wrestlers to sign for you so you won't need to go look for a napkin or anything for an autograph. Third, please do not do anything that will be classified as assault or sexual harassment; from that point you will be escorted out of the building without any of the signed merchandise. Basically treat them with respect and like they're regular people, trust me it'll go a lot smoother" he said eyeing both Ashlyn and Bryce; seeing if they understood the rules. "Most of them are cool as hell, so with all that said y'all enjoy"

* * *

Joe sighed, lightly stretching his arms over his head after signing his name for what it felt like the 100th time that night. Majority of the meet and greet were moms with their kids shouting for Cena, some teenagers wanting a picture or two, and a few ring rats looking for a willing wrestler; but nothing special.

A few of the wresters were sitting with fans, talking as if they were old friends while him and Jon were chilling on the side signing shirts with the occasional picture.

Joe could feel his eyes drifting down as he grew sleepy; tonight was something of a struggle to stay awake since he hasn't been getting a lot of sleep thinking about his daughter.

"Here" Jon said passing Joe a red bull, before opening his own.

Joe nodded as he snapped the top, where would he be without the crazy lunatic.

"Oh shit" Jon whispered, nudging Joe's arm. "I told you she was coming" he smirked,

Joe quickly looked up and there she was walking in behind security….with a guy walking beside her.

"Yeah with her boyfriend," Joe chuckled, seeing the disappointed look on his friend's face.

Sucking his teeth, Jon leaned back in his chair "Damn it, all the good ones are taken"

Joe chuckled as he looked at his friend then back at the burgundy haired woman standing by the tall buff man. Just as he was looking at her, she turned and caught his eyes. Joe saw the man look up at him as well, nodding his head in his direction; Joe automatically returned the gesture, figuratively saying hey.

Before he knew it the couple made their way over to his and Jon's table.

"Hey what's going on man" Joe said giving a small smile at the tall man, glancing at the cutie beside him.

Jon gave a small head nod with his arms crossed,

"Hey, what's going on Mr. Reigns; I just wanna say that I'm a huge fan of yours sir" the large man said with a smile, extending his hand to Joe.

Joe smiled widely as he shook his fan's hand, "Thanks man, appreciate the support."

Jon scoffed before getting up from the table, "I'm gonna take a break," he mumbled walking away to the exit.

Joe shook his head before turning back to the couple, both looking a little nervous and confused.

"He's alright, just tired from the show." Joe shrugged, still keeping a positive smile for his fans.

"Oh I bet, I know he's gotta be pissed about Seth challenging him to Wrestlemania; but can't do anything until he gets Triple H's permission" the man said nodding.

Joe nodded, glancing at the mocha skin woman standing shyly behind the man "Yeah, but he's Ambrose. He'll be alright." He smiled,

"You mind if we join you Mr. Reigns?" the man asked,

"Oh yeah, have a seat." Joe said nodding to the couple.

Still keeping his positive smirk, Joe glanced at the young woman seated across the table from him. Her burgundy bob, that was straight the last time he saw her, was now curled; giving her a more exotic look.

"I'm Bryce by the way and this is my cousin Ashlyn" the man said getting Joe's attention,

"Nice to meet you both and you can just call me Roman." Joe smirked, looking from Bryce to Ashlyn.

Joe could tell she was a little nervous by the way she was sitting. Her brown eyes kept switching from him to the table to her cousin as if she was scared that he would remember her. He really didn't understand why when Bryce said that she was his cousin, Joe felt relieved.

"Shit, I forgot to get the stuff for an autograph" Bryce said quickly getting up from the table, "You want anything Lyn?" he asked, turning to his cousin.

"Just a picture and a t-shirt is fine." She lightly smiled, wringing her hands in her lap nervously.

Nodding his head, Bryce quickly went to the merchandise table leaving the two alone.

Ashlyn sighed as she continued to massage her left thumb with her right hand, it was a nervous tick but it was a calming method she learned from one of her classes.

"So we meet again" Joe said deeply, smirking when Ashlyn's head shot up.

Lightly giggling, Ashlyn licked her lips. "Yeah, we just keep running into each other" she said before biting the side of her lip.

At the sight of her biting her lip, Joe could feel his breath quicken as he took in the sexy young woman sitting in front of him. Burgundy curls falling over her face, her warm brown eyes peeking from beneath her bangs and the way she was biting her lip gave Joe an image he wouldn't want to forget anytime soon.

"So, you enjoyed the show" Joe asked, leaning in a little.

Joe couldn't help but smirk when he saw a smile on her face, "Yeah, I always enjoy a show with men oiled up and wrestling each other in barely anything." she said sarcastically, smirking.

Joe chuckled, taking her answer as a double meaning.

"Well I'm glad I didn't disappoint" he said deeply, before licking his lips.

Ashlyn shyly looked down, hoping the sexy Samoan didn't notice her blushing.

"You alright?" Joe asked, leaning his head to the side; his eyes never leaving Ashlyn. "You're turning red." He chuckled,

Ashlyn quickly covered her face with her hands before pulling them down to fold them under her chest. "Well of course, it's not every day I nearly knock over a wrestling celebrity then end up seeing said celebrity again." she said lightly giggling.

Joe couldn't help but smirk at the memory, "If I remember correctly, I knocked **you** off your feet. I doubt you'd be able to put me on my back." he said deeply, letting the double meaning slip.

Ashlyn let out a silent gasp at the comment, her eyes meeting Joe's; seeing a slight challenge in them before she chuckled the tension away but her heart still beating rapidly.

"I doubt I could," Ashlyn said still giggling, "By the time it takes me to try and knock you over; you would have already flipped me here and there" she smirked, waving her hand left and right to emphasize her comment.

Joe couldn't help but shiver at the idea of him flipping her here and there as she put it.

'I wouldn't mind that at all' he thought, smirking at her.

"Besides, I'm not the one who wants to become a wrestler." She said, bringing Joe out of his fantasy as she changed the subject.

"Oh really?" Joe asked, sounding interested.

Ashlyn nodded as she glanced back at Bryce, still at the merchandise table; "Yeah, he's thinking on it. But he's stuck between football and wrestling, something you went through, right?" she asked, looking at Joe in the eyes.

"Yeah, something like that." Joe said glancing at the tall buff man, Ashlyn came in with. "He'd make it, with the right training." He said honestly.

In Joe's opinion, with the right training and fundamentals Bryce could make it to the big leagues. Truth be told, the man could pass for a tan Samoan and could probably join the Samoan dynasty with him and his cousins.

"Is he Samoan?" Joe asked, curiously.

Shaking her head no, Ashlyn sighed. "No, Hawaiian and Creole,"

"Oh and which side do you fit into?" Joe asked, smirking.

Ashlyn lightly bit her lip to keep from laughing at the question, "I'm from the Creole side, but don't ask me to speak French, I'm horrible at it" she chuckled,

"French isn't that hard to learn." Joe replied, "Not as easy as Italian but that's because I've been speaking that since birth." He explained.

Ashlyn smirked with her eyes growing wide, "You speak Italian?"

Joe chuckled at her surprised reaction; " ** _Certamente,_** of course" Joe said smirking at Ashlyn's eyes still wide with her mouth slightly open.

"Wow," she said chuckling. "That's beautiful."

Joe bit his bottom lip as he slightly leaned in. " ** _I tuoi occhi sono belli_** " he whispered, his eyes looking from her lips to her brown eyes.

Ashlyn could feel her heart race at the look Joe was giving her across the table, was it her imagination or was THE Roman Reigns flirting with her? Just as she was about to ask what he said, Bryce had returned to the table with nearly everything from the merchandise section.

"Did you have to buy nearly everything in sight?" Ashlyn chuckled,

Bryce pouted his lips at her before he smirked, "Well I didn't want to forget anything, besides it was on sale." He said giving her a shirt and photo of Roman.

As the meet and greet continued on, Ashlyn couldn't help but feel a shiver run through her body whenever she saw Roman lick his lips or glance her way when he was talking to Bryce. Trying to stay in the conversation, she would occasionally nod at the men or shrug but never really saying anything other than a 'yeah' or 'no' being that Bryce didn't stop talking about wresting and football with Roman as if they were old friends. After autographing a few things; including Ashlyn's 'Believe that' shirt and photo, Jon had finally came back to the table.

"Did I miss anything?" Jon asked as he sat back down beside Joe.

Joe shrugged as he looked between Ashlyn and Bryce "Nothing much, just been hanging with a wrestler in the making." He said fist bumping Bryce, who was smirking like a little kid in the candy store.

"Damn, ya trying to take my job kid?" Jon joked, looking at Bryce.

"Oh no sir, it's just something that I've been thinking about." Bryce explained, knowing Jon was messing with him. "Pretty much can't do anything else, I'm a big boy." He said laughing, making Jon and Joe chuckle. "Oh I'm Bryce by the way and this is my cousin Ashlyn" he said reintroducing them to Jon.

Jon nodded at the two, glancing at Ashlyn. "Don't I know you?" he asked, smirking.

Ashlyn turned her head to the side, making her bangs fall away from her face. "I don't know. I've been told my hair is a bit familiar" she giggled, flashing a small smile.

"Dark red does stand out," Jon remarked, smirking. "But I think I remember you running into a certain large Samoan 18 wheeler" Jon chuckled, looking at Joe who was holding his head down, his body shaking while he tried to hold in his laughter.

Bryce looked between the three chuckling people sitting with him at the table, trying to understand the joke before Ashlyn turned to him. "I'll explain later" she chuckled, glancing at Jon then Joe who finally sat up straight with a smirk.

"Yeah, from the looks of it we better get going." Bryce said standing up, "You ready Lyn?"

"Yeah, but you wanna get a picture?" she suggested, pulling out her phone "If that's ok with y'all?" she asked looking at the wrestlers who stood up as well.

Joe nodded, "It's fine with me." he said turning to Jon who shrugged.

"Long as I get a picture with the pretty girl, I'm good" he said grinning at Ashlyn, who gave him a sweet smile back.

With the three men posed with their fists up, Ashlyn took 3-4 pictures before Bryce took her place and she was standing between the two tall wrestlers.

As Bryce was taking the picture, Ashlyn lightly gasped at the feeling of someone putting their hand in her back pocket. Quickly shaking it off, the mocha skinned woman smiled as she posed. Once the pictures were done, the cousins said goodbye to the wrestlers and headed to the parking lot.

* * *

 **ASHLYN**

"What a night" I groaned, walking into my apartment.

After making my way to my room, I grabbed my favorite pajama top before plopping onto my bed in a loud sigh.

"Well at least I didn't embarrass myself." I said, thinking back on the night as I looked at the shirt and the autographed picture in my purse.

I honestly couldn't help but giggle at the surprisingly good night that I had, even though Bryce was acting like a dick when I tried to ask him what was wrong with him and his little girlfriend.

'Either way it goes, he's not marrying someone he's been dating for 2 months. I haven't even met the girl yet,' I thought taking off my jewelry, placing them in the small glass bowl on my nightstand.

Stretching my arms over my head, I heard my back pop; instant relief. "Oh thank God" I exclaimed, rubbing my lower back before checking my pockets for any loose change.

Feeling something in my back pocket, I quickly pulled it out.

"What the hell?"


	6. Another Author's Note

**Hello Hello all!**

 **I like to first and foremost say...WHHHYYYYYY ROMAN WHHHYYYYYYYY! 30 DAYS SUSPENSION! WWWHHHHHHHYYYYYYY! *BAWLING* ...**

 **Ahem, okay with that outta my system. I would like to apologize to my followers and others who are on the edge of their seat waiting for my stories to continue. I am soooo sorry, as I had put before in my last author's note (Just A Friend: chap 4.) that I was going through things but would still update. I am indeed trying to keep that promise to you guys.**

 **I will be continuing "Just A Friend" and of course "Hiding in Plain Sight" I've also been on the verge of a new story and a ONE-shot but I'm thinking on holding those off until I at least have my chapters in both stories up to the double digits.**

 **"Just A Friend" will be updated today and the rest of this week. I'm even biting my nails to see what happens with Joe and Ashlyn.**

 **"Hiding In Plain Sight" is a little more tricky, but should be updated around Saturday or Sunday then the following week. Sorry to make you wait for it, but Arissa and Roman have serious problems. I just don't know why they don't wanna cooperate and get alone...I mean ALONG!**

 **Anywho, I haven't forgotten about y'all. Pretty much this has been running through my mind all day but I wasn't around a computer and I'd rather not try and do a full story on my phone ...soooo yeah.**

 **Pretty much you should be seeing more chapters in both stories this week and a new one MAYBE next month. (Not so sure on that but we'll see.)**

 **So I believe that will answer a few questions for now until I post up an update schedule.**

 **Thanks so much you guys,**

 **~P.S.B~**


	7. Can We Talk

**Hey Hey y'all! I'm sorry for not updating faster, I know y'all are clawing at the screens when it ends on a cliffhanger. But there's some stuff I need to research on and make sure it's right just for my amazing P.S.B readers. And I've noticed that some are trying to figure out the story before it's finished….all I can say is, you're just gonna have to read and find out if you're right. He he he.**

 **Anywhoo, the songs for this chapter are the following: "In Time" by Talos and "Can We Talk" by Tevin Campbell**

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT MY OC (and her friends)**

 **Enjoy & Review**

* * *

Turning to face the alarm clock on the nightstand, Joe sighed when he saw it was nearly 10am. A light pull of the covers made him turn his head back to the small frame beside him.

Joe felt a small smile come to his face as he saw his daughter lightly snoring beside him. She indeed was his mini me, with a few hints of Janice. No doubt their matching grey eyes were a dead giveaway that she was his, but she also had his smile, his island tan skin; Janice even once made the comment on how they both thought the same. When his angel would get mad, she reminded himself of his alter ego, Roman, nicknaming her baby Reigns or as Jon would call her Romaine.

Joe chuckled softly as he lightly moved a loose strand back in place on Jasmine's head, the little girl never stirring while her father reminisced.

As soon as he got back in town, Joe didn't hesitate to go get his little girl. Not that he minded her staying with her grandparents, but she was his responsibility and nothing would stop him from spending time with her like a normal father should. He didn't care if he had to canoe back, he would go to any limit to see his daughter when he was off.

Joe slowly turned onto his back as he thought on what happened not 3 hours ago,

* * *

 **~Flashback~**

Jasmine was still asleep in Joe's arms as he walked into the house, leaving his luggage in the car. Setting his baby girl down on her bed, Joe heard the door squeak; he didn't need to be psychic to know that his wife was checking to see who it was.

"Joe" she whispered harshly. "What are you doing home?"

Holding back a growl in his chest, Joe stood to his full height as he walked to the door; lightly pushing passed Janice before gently closing it, not wanting to wake up Jasmine.

"I live here, don't I? Last time I checked it was my house" he sneered, making his way back down the stairs to get his luggage out the car; Janice at his heels.

"Yes, but you usually call when you're about to come home?" she replied with an attitude, her voice rising as they went outside.

Joe sighed as he pulled his duffle bag then his rolling suitcase out the trunk of his SUV, slightly ignoring Janice. "I would've but I doubt you'd answer. Just like all the other times I've tried calling to check up on you and Jasmine; straight to voicemail!" he said trying to keep his voice down to not wake the neighbors.

Janice huffed as she stomped away from Joe, back into the house. Joe shook his head as he walked up the path to a house that he used to call his home.

After locking the front door, Joe took a deep breath before hauling his luggage up the stairs. He may have been shit tired but having his Jazzy wake up to see him was gonna be worth it, even if her mother was being unreasonable at the moment.

Setting his luggage to the side, Joe slipped off his shoes before dropping into his California king size bed. With red, dry eyes, sore feet, muscles aching, and slightly sleep deprived; Joe tried to find a comfortable spot to sleep in.

"What are you doing?" Janice asked, her voice still dripping with an attitude.

Taking another deep breath, Joe slowly sat up on his elbows; rolling his eyes to land on his wife. "I'm trying to sleep, what the hell's it look like?"

Joe saw Janice's top lip raise up in disgust, "You stink, you need a shower" she said before going into the closet, turning on the bright light nearly blinding Joe.

"Damn it Niecie, I'm tired. I drove all night just to get here to be with you and Jasmine." He huffed shielding his eyes as he fully sat up, "And this is the welcome home I get?" he asked, feeling his pressure rise again.

"I'm just saying Joe, I just cleaned the sheets and now you come in smelling like sweaty man balls; the least you could do is shower" she said walking out the closet in a pair of black scrub pants and a dark blue scrub top, fasting her earrings on.

"Where the hell you going?" Joe asked confused at his wife's attire as she continued to get dressed.

"I'm going to work Joe, you know a job" she replied pulling a pair of black shoes from the closet.

Joe paused briefly before standing to his feet, with his arms crossed. "When did you get a job?" he asked, his eyebrows ruffled together.

"A few weeks ago, I needed something to do other than worry about you on the road" Janice huffed, picking up her purse as she walked to the door.

Quickly Joe moved in front of her, blocking her exit with his large frame. "Hold up, first you wanna ignore my calls when I'm trying to check on you and Jasmine, then I hear about you getting her a cellphone without telling me and now you got a job?" he said still looking confused, "Baby I told you before you didn't need to work. But if you wanted to you know I would support that, but I thought you'd love me enough to tell me and not ignore my calls. Especially with the fact that you left our daughter with my mother for a week," he said remembering everything his parents told him the previous day.

"Joe, my phone broke." Janice said rubbing her forehead, "When I went to get it fixed, they had a double deal plan. If I got the upgrade then they would give me a second phone 50% off. I knew Jasmine would be going back to school soon and she would need one if anything happened. And I work at the hospital, its long hours and sometimes I rest in one of the empty rooms." She shrugged, "She was fine."

"But a week without a call to check on her, Niecie?" Joe asked, still not convinced. "Not to mention I haven't heard from you longer than that."

"Because I didn't want to bother you!" she shouted, making both of them go silent.

Janice sighed as she pushed passed Joe, "I'm gonna be late, I'll explain later when I come home" she said walking down the stairs, not giving Joe a second glance as she left the house.

Joe sighed as he began to pace; Janice wasn't usually this secretive. Even when they were dating she would tell him everything; what was going on that changed her dramatically?

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Joe held his head in his hands trying to think things through. Taking another deep breath, Joe put his forehead on his balled up hands; the question running through his mind **: what was going on in his house**?

Joe's head slowly rose up at the feeling of a small hand rubbing his hair. Holding her stuffed tiger as she looked at him under her lashes, Jasmine rubbed her father's hair; hoping to comfort him.

Quickly Joe put up a small smile for his daughter, "Hey baby, sorry if mommy and daddy woke you" he said pulling her into his lap.

"It's ok daddy" she said softly, tapping her small hand on Joe's face as she laid her head on his chest.

"I missed you my angel" Joe whispered as he kissed his daughter's forehead.

Giggling at the feel of his beard on her face, Jasmine's laughter pushed Joe's worries to the far back of his mind. "Missed you too daddy" she said cuddling up, putting her knees up to her chest.

Joe knew she wouldn't leave his side no matter what he did; with that thought in mind he began to rock side to side, deeply humming a song his mother used to sing to him. Once he knew Jasmine was sound asleep, Joe laid her on the bed. And as gently as he could manage, Joe laid down beside her; smirking at his daughter's light snores. Soon both the grey eyed father and daughter drifted away from reality to their dreams.

 **~End Flashback~**

* * *

The argument still plagued his mind as he thought on what Janice shouted. He didn't mind at all that she had a job, but he just thought she would at least tell him about it. The phone story was something else as well, especially with her giving their 6 year old daughter her own phone that he has yet to see. Joe honestly didn't know what to believe and he didn't want to think about his wife cheating on him either. Janice's echoing words rang out like a bell in Joe's ears.

 _"_ _Because I didn't want to bother you!"_

Joe couldn't help but think that maybe she was still upset with him being so hard on her when he first went on the road.

How could she not understand that it was his dream to follow in his family's path? Yes, he did enjoy football but that was in college; here and now he loved wrestling. The adrenaline, the cheers, all the perks that came with it; even the ugly side of the business that had him sore and bleeding, he took it all just so his family could live the way they wanted. He did what he had to do so she could stay with their daughter like she wanted; it was the sacrifice they agreed he would do just to give Jasmine a life that she would enjoy and not have to worry. But now, what did Janice want? He gave her everything she asked for, anything at the drop of a dime; what was he doing wrong?

Slowly the large Samoan/Italian got up from his bed and headed downstairs to start on something to eat for both him and Jasmine; hopefully cooking would clear his mind on his confusing wife.

Deep in thought, Joe barley felt his phone vibrate in his sweatpants. Joe quickly pulled the ringing device from his pocket, answering the call.

"Hello?"

" _Hey,"_ the person replied nervously, " _I don't know if this is a joke or what, but I was calling to see who this number belonged to_ "

Joe instantly smirked when he recognized the voice on the other side,

"Well from the sounds of it, you've probably ran into this person before" Joe chuckled deeply, hoping she understood his joke.

Joe swore he heard a gasp then something that sounded like a body falling on the floor. He quickly jogged upstairs to see if it was Jasmine; seeing she was still asleep, Joe tip toed back down the stairs with his ear still to the phone.

"Hey, you still there?" Joe asked, walking back to the kitchen.

" _Yeah….I'm still here_ " she said shyly,

Joe couldn't help but let out a deep chuckle, she was so cute when she was shy.

" _Please tell me this is a joke and I'm not talking to the famous wrestler Roman Reigns_ " she said, lightly squeaking.

"Well, I could say that you're not; but I was raised not to lie. So, sorry baby girl" he said deeply, leaning onto the counter.

Hearing her giggle, Joe bit his lip; remembering how her smile looked the last time he saw her.

" _I was wondering which one of you put your number in my pocket_ " she giggled, " _I'm curious to know why,_ "

Joe of course knew the main reason for slipping his number to her; she was all he could think about other than his daughter. But just being around Ashlyn for 5 minutes made the Samoan superman feel a certain calmness in his storms. He honestly didn't want to lose someone who would be good for him, it was a rare find to have a good person in your corner.

"Well I do want a heads up the next time you decided to run into me," he chuckled "Can't have you surprise me and manage to get me on the ground." Joe said, slightly avoiding the question.

Ashlyn lightly sucked on her teeth, " _Whatever, I said I was sorry."_ She said with a smile,

"Sorry? You could've injured me." Joe teased, with a smirk.

" _Me? Injure you?"_ Ashlyn scoffed, lightly chuckling. " _If you remember Mr. Reigns, I'm 5'3 and can barely reach your chin. What possible damage could I have done to you? Bite your ankles?_ " she laughed, making Joe laugh out loud.

The feeling of having a real laugh put Joe's mind at ease of the situation with Janice, before he felt so drained that he knew he was dragging. But when he heard the voice of a familiar shy mocha skin, he felt a bit more pep in his step; as if the sun shined a little brighter.

"I don't know, you do have a way of surprising people" Joe chuckled, making Ashlyn giggle as he opening the fridge to gather what he needed.

" _You should talk, but I honestly didn't think you'd remembered me_ " she admitted.

Joe chuckled deeply, "How could I forget someone with a beautiful smile, who nearly ran me over?"

Ashlyn lightly chuckled, " _Thank you, but I hope I'm not interrupting anything...I know you probably need your rest_ " she said sounding a little sad.

"You're not really interrupting anything; I was just about to fix something for breakfast. It's fine" Joe said assuring her he wanted to talk.

" _You know it's almost noon right_?" Ashlyn giggled, " _It's kinda late for breakfast isn't it_?"

Joe smirked, "Well breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Besides, a man my size needs a good first meal if he's gonna be working out later."

" _I honestly wouldn't know anything about that_ ," she shrugged, " _I work out but I'm not a breakfast type of person,"_

Joe raised an eyebrow as he placed 4 egg yolks in a small bowl, "What do you mean? You don't like eggs and bacon?" he smirked,

Ashlyn lightly laughed before replying, " _I do, but mine either come out too runny or burnt. I can make a hell of a dinner, it's just breakfast isn't for me. Plus with my job and school, I barely have time for it anyway_."

"Oh, what do you go to school for?" Joe asked, his mind wondering on what other surprises she might have.

Ashlyn chuckled as she began to explain a few things to the famous wrestler who on the other end cooked with a listening ear.

* * *

Joe never knew he could laugh so much as he and Ashlyn talked about nearly everything. If he was honest with himself, Joe felt his life wasn't as exciting as Ashlyn's. True he was a wrestler who traveled around the world, but he's never explored the far reaches of the sea like her. Joe still couldn't believe she was a marine biologist major at U.W.F (University of West Florida); remembering the shy young woman he saw a few weeks ago didn't seem like the type of person to go swimming with sharks and dolphins.

" _Anyway as I was looking for the sick penguin, I end up getting cornered by a colony of his cousins who were trying to get the fish my co worker had tied to my suspenders. I tried to get away but tripped on a faux glacier, landing on my stomach. I've never felt more terrified of something so cute when they trampled me."_ Ashlyn said, trying not to laugh at her memory. But she couldn't say the same for Joe, who was about to bust a gut laughing.

Joe tried to calm down but the image was too hilarious, "I'm sorry, that's….that's not funny at all" he lied trying to hold back his laughter by biting his bottom lip.

Ashlyn couldn't help but let out a forgiving chuckle, " _No, it ok. I'm just doomed to be clumsy and bump into everything_ "

"And everyone" Joe teased, remembering the day he first saw her as he turned off the stove, finishing up the food.

" _Well you're the first celebrity I've ran into, literally."_ Ashlyn shrugged, " _Even though I didn't mean to, I honestly thought you were gonna do your roar and spear me_ " she chuckled,

Joe smirked as he shook his head, "I wouldn't do you like that. Plus I wouldn't want to hurt a beautiful girl like you" he said, meaning his words but also trying not to think about 'spearing' Ashlyn.

" _Thank you_ " she said shyly.

"So…how old are you?" Joe said, face-palming himself, slightly upset for not asking that sooner and running out of questions.

Chuckling, Ashlyn pulled her side bangs behind her ear. " _I am 26. How old are you?"_

"I'm 30" Joe replied, sitting at the bar in the kitchen. "What's your favorite flower?" he smirked,

" _Purple freesias_ , _"_ she said quickly, before pausing as she wondered if she was going too far if she asked the next question on her mind.

Joe instantly felt her hesitation through the phone, "What's wrong? You suddenly got quiet on me" he asked,

"Would it be too personal to ask you…"

Joe licked his lips, "Ask me what?"

"…. _What's your real name?"_ Ashlyn asked, quietly.

Joe knew she would ask that sooner or later, feeling a pull from the corner of his mouth nearing a smirk. He couldn't help but trust Ashlyn, besides if she knew who he really was then she wouldn't be like the rest of the world and think he was anything like his T.V persona, Roman.

"It's Joe…..Joe Anoa'i" he said deeply.

" _Joe_ " Ashlyn repeated, not knowing he felt a shiver hearing her say his name for the first time.

"Daddy?"


	8. Are You That Somebody To Come and See Me

**Hello hello y'all! I hope you can forgive me for taking so long to update but it will be worth it.**

 **The songs in this chapter will be :**

 **"Are you that somebody" by Aaliyah,**

 **"Rock The Boat" by Aaliyah (Full Crate Remix) & **

**"Come and See Me" By PARTYNEXTDOOR FT. Drake.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT MY OC (and her friends)**

 **Enjoy and Review.**

* * *

" _It's Joe…..Joe Anoa'i_ "

"Joe" I repeated with a sigh, testing his name on my lips.

I couldn't believe I was just speaking with a famous wrestler like we were old friends; that's what it felt like anyway. During our conversation, I don't know what happened but….I felt like I could trust him and I think he felt the same since he gave me his real name and number.

Honestly a side of me was praying it wasn't Dean, he's not a bad looking guy but I would admit I'm a Roman girl….or a Joe girl if I could even say that or would that be going too far?

The feeling of my phone vibrating brought me out of my thoughts, quickly unlocking my screen to have my excitement turn to disappointment.

 **Derrick: U busy? We need to practice remember!**

Sucking my teeth, I jumped from my bed to the closet to get my costume together. Lately Derrick has been a real bitch with our nonstop practices, I barely had time with school and work; but he was my best friend and this competition meant a lot to him.

After locking the front door, I put one earphone in before settling on my Ninja. It was something I loved but I didn't think I could make a career out of dancing with Derrick. He's even offered me a job being his assistant, it was a nice temptation but it wasn't my dream.

As I rode down the road, the lyrics echoed in my ear.

 _'_ _If I let you know, you can't tell nobody I'm talking 'bout nobody._

 _Are you responsible? Boy I gotta watch my back cause I'm not just anybody._

 _Is it my go, is it your go? Sometimes I'm goody goody, right now I'm naughty naughty._

 _Say yes or say no. Cause I really need somebody, tell me are you that somebody.'_

Oddly the chorus brought my mind back to Joe. Am I responsible to not tell anybody about my conversation with the famous wrestler? I mean of course he trusts me enough to know information that anyone could make a quick buck on by spilling it to the papers and fans, but I had a feeling that Joe needed somebody…

'But could I be that somebody?' I thought, pulling up to the studio.

* * *

 **Joe**

As Joe separated the clothes from his bags into the wash, his mind couldn't help but wonder about Ashlyn. They were having a good conversation, he even told her his real name which he said he would never tell a fan but….she was more than a fan. As soon as he heard her voice, he felt like he could trust her, like he could tell her everything wrong with his life and she would make it better. But Joe knew he had to tread carefully on something like this, as far as he knew Ashlyn could be putting his business on social media.

'No, she wouldn't do that' he thought, giving the mocha skin the benefit of the doubt.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Joe swiped till he saw the number she called from to save it. Now came the hard part, what should he put for the name?

Biting his bottom lip, Joe typed in the first words that came to mind when he thought of Ashlyn.

 ** _Bella occhi marroni_** _(Beautiful brown eyes)_

As Joe stared at the name, he was at a standstill. Earlier he said he would call her back when Jasmine came into the kitchen, but the thought of calling her made him nervous and a little guilty. He was sure that she heard Jasmine, but it wasn't as if he was hiding the fact that he was married or had a daughter. The subject never came up yet ….But wouldn't something like that be too much to say to someone you just started talking to? It would be, if you were planning on going further than friends with that person. But all Joe wanted was a conversation with Ashlyn…..

'Do I?' he thought, sighing as he continued to stare at the number.

Who wouldn't want to talk with someone who was understanding, gentle, shy, beautiful; a good hearted person that listened and made him laugh. What difference was it that the person was a woman instead of a man?

Just as Joe was about to walk to his bedroom, a thought just crossed his mind.

'Was she more willing to accept my life as Roman or as Joe?' he thought running his fingers through his ponytail.

Numerous times Joe was conflicted when majority of his co workers would prefer the persona Roman then his own self. The same night he saw Ashlyn, he was going through the same thoughts. Would she be just like them?

'If she did then why would she ask for my real name?' Joe thought gathering the rest of his clothes from his suitcase.

"Jasmine, time to wash clothes!" Joe yelled down the hall, hearing an 'Okay daddy' echo back to him.

Once his clothes were separated, Joe noticed that the hamper was full. Not wanting to hear Janice's mouth when she came home and him being considerate, Joe decided to wash the rest of the clothes.

With his clothes already separated, all he had to do was do the same for the clothes in the hamper. As he pulled a couple of Janice's shirts and scrubs from the hamper to the color piles, Joe paused when he saw something new. A light blue lace teddy body suit,

Feeling his hands ball up the silk fabric, Joe felt sick to his stomach; was this what Janice was hiding from him?

"Daddy?"

At the sound of his daughter's voice, Joe tossed the negligee back into the hamper before facing Jasmine.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Joe asked, putting a calm face on for his daughter.

"I got my dirty clothes ready, and I put them in color piles like mommy taught me." she said sweetly, smiling at her accomplishment.

Hearing his daughter mention her mother made Joe's jaw clench into a frown, nodding his head. "Good job baby," he said deeply, trying to avoid his daughter's eyes.

"What's wrong daddy?" Jasmine asked, curiously; sensing something wrong with her father.

Joe honestly didn't know what to say to his daughter, he couldn't say what was on his mind and he definitely didn't want Jasmine to be exposed to something that she was still too young for.

Her big grey eyes stared curiously at her father for an answer, he wasn't ready to give. Joe had to get out of the house for a while, just being in the room with the item in the hamper made him feel like the walls were closing in.

"Nothing angel, but I got an idea. How about after I get through with the clothes, let's go out for a while then see **_nonna_** and grandpa." Joe said needing to get down to the bottom of things concerning his marriage.

Jasmine looked down then back at Joe, "Ok daddy." She said unsure.

Joe squatted down to his daughter's eye level when he heard the uneasiness in her voice, "What's wrong **_gelsomino_** (Jasmine)"

The little girl began to rub her right hand on her left arm nervously, "I forgot my phone at **_nonna_** and grandpa's" she said looking down, "Are you mad daddy? Mommy said I should be more re…respon-sa-bill" she asked sadly as she tried to pronounce the word.

"No, I'm not mad." Joe said smirking. On the contrary, Joe was satisfied that the evidence was with his parents. "But we'll talk about that later, now go get ready while I finish up the clothes" he said standing back up.

Nodding her head Jasmine quickly raced back to her room to get ready for her day with her daddy, while Joe sighed at the questions going through his head. He still hasn't seen the phone Janice had gotten for their daughter, now there was some lingerie in the hamper that Joe's never seen before.

All this was enough to make him tear up the whole room. But before jumping to conclusions he would spend time with his daughter, she was the only thing that mattered at the moment. Even if he had to hold back his anger just to give her a fun day with her daddy, Joe would put that ass chewing on hold.

* * *

 **Ashlyn**

"Come on Lyn, you gotta have the connection with me." Derrick sighed, frustrated when he saw Ashlyn not paying attention again.

This was the 10th time they did the choreograph; Ashlyn could feel all her muscles in her legs ache as she tried standing to her feet again. Time and time again, Ashlyn tried to focus on the moves but all she could think about was when would he call?

"Let's take it from the top" he said getting in his pose, Ashlyn slinging her arm over his chest in a tired sigh.

At the sound of the beat dropping, Derrick spun Ashlyn away from him then back in his arms. Reaching for the ceiling, Ashlyn sighed as Derrick's hands seductively slid down her visible stomach to the top of her sweatpants covered hips. Bodies moving to the rhythm of the song echoing through the studio,

Pulling her for the next part of their dance, Derrick pressed Ashlyn's hips to his own; slowly grinding to the beat until it sped up, making the two perform a piece of the choreograph from the original music video.

Through the turns and touches, Ashlyn's mind thought on Joe once again. Did he call her back? Was he gonna message her instead? Would he explain himself more? Did he just want sex? So much ran through her head that she missed the last step, falling on her back with Derrick towering over her.

Derrick's fallen on Ashlyn before, but nothing like this.

His hazel green eyes stared into her surprised browns, feeling the other's face so close. Air being quickly inhaled in their parted mouths as they tried to catch their breath. Derrick glanced down at Ashlyn's lips then back at her eyes before licking his lips. Ashlyn gasped feeling Derrick push his waist in between her legs as he gently ran his fingers through her burgundy hair.

"Derrick, don't!" Ashlyn said, pushing both hands on his chest.

Stubbornly Derrick didn't move at her rejection, slowly moving back to thrust back onto her; making Ashlyn gasp out at the feeling of her friend's body on hers in such an intimate way.

"That's the type of connection we need to win this" he whispered before getting to his feet, holding his hand out to help Ashlyn up.

Shyly Ashlyn looked away from the hazel eyes that stared into hers a moment ago, before pushing herself off the floor.

"You alright Lyn?" he asked, grabbing his water.

Still looking at the floor, Ashlyn pulled her knees to her chest. "I thought you were gay?" she mumbled,

Shaking his head, Derrick grabbed another bottle for Lyn. "Far from it baby." He said deeply, handing her the extra bottle.

Grabbing the bottle, Ashlyn took the chance to look at Derrick; seeing him stand over her made her body shiver at the sweat falling from his face to his chest. Quickly turning her head, Ashlyn took a drink to cool herself down; feeling Derrick sit next to her.

"Look Lyn, this competition means a lot to me. And I didn't mean anything by it but we need to have a close connection if we're gonna win. The other competitors I've seen are not gonna hold back, so why should we?" he asked, his forehead falling to Ashlyn's shoulder. "Like I said I wasn't insinuating sex, I mean it's not like I wouldn't." he said, lifting his head from Lyn's shoulder. "You're beautiful, talented, and cute when you're clumsy. Even then you make up for it in your amazing personality. Any guy would be crazy to not want to….."

"Derrick" Ashlyn quickly interrupted, "Thanks, but no thanks" she said getting up from the floor.

In a rush, Lyn grabbed her bag and headed for the door not even waiting for Derrick to say a word to her.

Once she made it home, Ashlyn dropped to her couch; pulling her body into a fetal position. It took all she had to not cry in the studio, to not scream, to not feel… _helpless …._ like before _._

With her body tired and aching, Ashlyn passed out on her couch. Her phone buzzing in her bag,

* * *

 **Joe**

Joe lightly smiled as he held his sleeping daughter to his shoulder while he walked up the walkway to his parent's house.

He did enjoy spending time with his little Jazzy belle but now he had to find out about a few things. As he made it to the front step, his mother had already opened the door for him.

"Leati, my baby" Rosaline said quietly, pulling her son's face to hers; kissing his cheek.

"Hey ma," Joe said smiling down at his mother.

Seeing her granddaughter asleep, Rosaline pulled her 6'3 son inside to have him put her in his old room.

After Joe placed Jasmine down in his old bed, he gently brushed his fingers across the sleeping child's head; placing loose strands back in their place before heading downstairs into the kitchen where he knew his parents would be.

"There's my baby boy" he heard his father say from the fridge.

After hugging his dad, Joe smiled as he sat down. "Hey dad, you good?" he asked, watching the elder Samoan make a sandwich.

" ** _Oloo ou manuia_** , I'm fine young blood." Sika said chuckling before eyeing his son seriously, "The question is, are you good?"

Joe sighed, feeling his jaw slightly clench up forming his mouth into a pout. "Not really pop" he admitted.

"I know you're troubled with Janice and Jasmine, **_atali'i_** (son) ** _._** Your mother has been telling me that for weeks, I thought my ears were going to fall off." Sika joked, sitting at the head of the table. "Talk to me Leati." He told his son,

"It's honestly not Jasmine, pop." Joe started, "It's never an issue with my baby. But Janice, I don't want to jump to conclusions. I know I was hard on her when I first left but that doesn't mean she has to reject my calls or even keep me out the loop with her getting a job." Joe explained to his father, his mother just walking into the kitchen.

"Oh that's where Ms. Thing has been?" Rosaline snapped, hearing about her son's wife.

Joe shockingly looked at both his parents, "You guys didn't know either?"

At the sight of both his parents shaking their heads no, Joe could feel his heart pound faster.

"But… we don't have a reason to say she is going somewhere she shouldn't be" Sika said, giving his daughter in law the benefit of the doubt.

Rosaline hastily looked at her husband, "Have you been drinking my _Rosatello_ again?" she asked raising an eyebrow before facing her son. "I have had a bad feeling about her leaving Jasmine with us for a while, Leati. It is not right for a mother to be apart from her daughter for so long." Rosaline said folding her arms, "Yes, yes this is the 21st century, but she is up to no good if she has not told you about her job"

Joe nodded to his mother, she did have a point. It wasn't right that Janice was away from Jasmine for so long, but to keep her job a secret from everyone was a red flag.

"Jasmine said she left her phone here." Joe said getting to the main reason why he came over, "Janice told me that she had gotten it when she broke her phone. Do you have it mom?" Joe asked, looking at his mother.

Sighing, Rosaline shook her head no again. "No, I had taken it from Jasmine after she spoke with you and placed it in our room to give it to you when you got here. But the next day it was gone."

"Damn it" Joe cursed under his breath,

The phone was going to give him most of the answers he wanted, but without it he didn't have any solid evidence on Janice being unfaithful. Except…..

"Ma, did anything seem out of the ordinary when you went to pick up Jasmine from my house?" Joe asked, hoping for something.

Rosaline thought for a moment before turning to her son, "Now that you mention it, Janice did the laundry before she left."

"That doesn't mean anything Rosa," Sika butted in, "You do the laundry every day, you even wash clothes that were already clean" he complained, teasing his wife. "Costing me a fortune in washing powder"

"Well if you would choose one shirt and not go through 3 to 5 different shirts, I would not need to rewash them." Rosa snapped, pouting out her lips at her husband before turning back to Joe. "I am just saying **_figlio_ ** (son), she was only washing the guest bed sheets. I checked; nothing else was with it. Not even Jasmine's." she said with a serious look on her face.

The information his mother gave him was a hard pill to swallow, but that was the reason he came over in the first place. He had to find something out one way or another.

Placing a comforting hand on her son's shoulder, Rosaline sighed. "You found something didn't you?"

"Rosaline!" Sika snapped, "Why do you not like your daughter in law? She must have a good reason to do the things she does." He said taking up for Janice again, when Joe didn't.

Rosaline's dark brown eyebrows ruffled together as she stared at her husband across the table. "A good reason? A good reason?!" she nearly shouted, "What good reason would she have to leave our granddaughter? To ignore our son as he works his fingers to the bone to provide for her and Jasmine! And you already know the reason why I do not like that little _sgualdrinetta_ (hussy). She knew our Leati was going places and she wanted her hands in his pie." She fussed, placing her hand on her chest as she steadied her breathing. "Even though we were blessed with our beautiful grandbaby, I still am not convinced on Janice's feelings for you." his mother lectured.

Joe could feel his head begin to pound as he thought on everything since he's gotten home. He could be jumping to conclusions since he and Janice haven't been alone in so long, maybe he was sex deprived. Or maybe it was something else entirely.

"Alright ma, pop. Thanks for your help." He said getting up from his seat, "I gotta get Jasmine home."

"Leati,"

Joe turned to face his father at the sound of his name,

"I hope you find what you're looking for, but remember Janice is the mother of your child, no matter what results you get." Sika said giving his son a serious eye.

Joe nodded, understanding his father's words; before walking to his old room to get his daughter.

* * *

After tucking his daughter in bed, Joe retreated to his own room.

Falling on his bed, Joe sighed with his hands behind his head as he looked at the square the four posts around his bed made in the ceiling. The soft brown color reminding him of the eye color of a certain mocha skin female,

"Oh shit, Ashlyn" Joe jumped up, remembering he suppose to call her back.

Seeing that it was nearing 9pm, Joe thought she might be asleep. But it wouldn't hurt to try; he honestly needed someone to talk to.

 **Joe: Hey, you awake?**

Nervously, Joe waited on her reply. Was she still interested in him? Would she be willing to be the support he needed? Hearing his phone ding, Joe felt his heart race.

 **Bella occhi marroni: Hey stranger**


	9. Strong Grown Woman

**Hey Hey everyone,**

 **There really isn't much to say in this announcement except about Ashlyn's clothes and apartment. Honestly when I read other fanfics I like the image of something, just like the song make the story seem real so does the home. The address Lyn gives Joe is a real one but it's of an apartment building in Fl. Ashlyn's apartment number is actually Joe's birthday (5/25), so if someone does live at that exact location don't worry I just randomly picked that place and the numbers were of course Joe's birthday. Her pajama set is from Ardene . com** **&** **honestly I didn't know which one to choose they were all so cute! But if you prefer another one instead of the one I choose then by all means go for it, it's your imagination.**

 **But majority of her outfits (Just like Arissa) they will come from Aliexpress or other online outfit sites.**

 **With that cleared, I decided to fold and upload my ONE shot, "Do You Have What It Takes" soon. And take it with warning, it's gonna be a jalapeño (It's gonna be hot, duh).**

 **Anywho, let's get down to the songs. "Strong (It's all Austin's fault Bootleg)" by London Grammar & "Grown Woman" by PARTYNEXTDOOR. **

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT MY OCS**

 **Hope y'all Enjoy & Review.**

* * *

Ashlyn smirked as she laid in bed, watching Raw. Biting her lip, she nearly squealed when she heard Joe's theme song. It's been nearly a month since the two became good friends, or texting buddies as Lyn likes to call them.

That night she replied to Joe's message, things were never the same. They stayed up halfway through the night messaging each other about this and that.

Thinking about that night made Lyn scroll to their first messages to each other. Every time she read them, she'd feel more close to Joe, even though they were miles and miles away from each other. One message in particular made her feel….uneasy.

* * *

~Flashback~

 **Joe: You sure you're ok?**

 **Yeah, I'm fine. I know he wouldn't do anything to purposely hurt me.** Ashlyn replied, trying not to remember the look in Derrick's eyes. But instead thought of a pair of grey eyes that were as amazing as his smile,

 **Lyn: Just like you,**

After Lyn sent the message, she felt like that wasn't enough. Like she was holding back, ….if she wanted to know where they stood then she needed to take that leap.

 **Lyn: Joe….**

 **Joe: Yeah?**

 **Lyn: I don't know why but…..I feel like I can trust you.** She admitted.

 **Joe: I feel the same way.** He replied quickly,

Ashlyn could feel her cheeks begin to hurt with the big smile she had on her face at that moment.

 **Joe: Lyn, I like you and I don't want to lose something that's a positive impact on my life. What I'm trying to say is…..I'm married and I have a daughter.**

As she read the sentence, Lyn could feel her heart pound in her chest. She knew it was gonna come up sooner or later but she was somewhat prepared for it. After all she did hear the little girl's voice that morning she called him, he was attractive, smart and talented; what woman wouldn't want him as a husband.

Shaking her head with a sigh, Lyn bit her bottom lip and replied.

 **Lyn: I was wondering when you were gonna tell me,**

 **Joe: I understand if you don't want to speak to me anymore, I didn't want to lie to you Lyn.**

 **Lyn: Joe, it's cool. We're friends right?**

On the other end of the phone, Joe smirked at the reply Ashlyn sent him. Majority of his worries faded away thanks to an understanding woman with amazing eyes. Joe couldn't ask for more than that.

 **Joe: Yeah**

~End Flashback~

* * *

Even though he was married and the thought of it made her feel uneasy, Lyn was still gonna be there for the 6'3 teddy bear of a man. She honestly didn't know why his wife wasn't the support he needed but Ashlyn never pushed the subject; the two mainly spoke on how the other was doing.

Ashlyn smirked thinking on how honest Joe was, he could've kept his marriage and child a secret from her but told her before anything went too far. He was an amazing man, both inside and out. He just needed a friend, and Ashlyn promised she would be just that; knowing she would need one too.

Ashlyn jumped at the sound of her phone buzzing,

"Damn it" she mumbled, pulling the blankets back to find her lost phone.

Listening to the vibrations of her phone, Ashlyn kept pulling blankets and pillows from her bed until there was nothing but the fitted sheets on the mattress.

"Shit, it must be on the floor" she said holding onto the bed as she bent over the side to look.

Spotting the device near the edge, Ashlyn reached out to grab it. She stretched further and further to her phone, still hearing it vibrate but yet couldn't reach it. With a determined sigh, Ashlyn tried again to reach for her phone. Just as her fingertips touched the screen, so did her body to the floor in a loud thud.

"Ouch" she croaked out, feeling the slamming sting run up her back.

Slowly turning over to her stomach, Lyn pulled her knees to her stomach as she placed herself on all fours to reach under the bed for her phone.

"Hello?" she asked, seeing it was a call not a text.

"Lyn, you alright? I heard the slam and thought something had happened." Joe asked concerned.

Chuckling, Lyn laid on her carpet floor. "I'm fine you big baby, you worry too much"

"I worry enough." Joe replied, chuckling as well. "You enjoyed the show tonight?"

"Of course, I always do especially when you spear the other guys. You seriously have to teach me that one of these days." She giggled, hearing Joe chuckle on the other end. "I doubt I'd do some damage though"

"Nah, if I'd teach you then you'd do some damage. Believe that" he smirked, repeating his quote.

"I guess, so what's up Jojo." Ashlyn said, teasing Joe with her nickname for him.

Joe sighed before replying, "Well, um would it be kinda weird to ask for a favor?"

Turning onto her stomach as she swung her feet, Ashlyn hummed "Hmmm, depends on the favor."

"Well what if a friend needed a place to crash for a few hours." Joe asked, hoping Ashlyn understood what he was asking.

"I believe I can allow that. Do I know this friend?" she said playing along,

"Well, he's 6'3; Samoan and Italian, amazing hair" he said smiling, running his hand over said hair.

Ashlyn nodded as she sat up, "Oh, well he does sound familiar." She giggled, "I might have a spare bedroom for him, he'll have to make due with the short bed though." Lyn said getting on her feet.

"He can manage" Joe said still playing along. "So you don't mind? We just got through with a show and I saw we weren't that far from where you said you went to school."

"I don't mind," Lyn said walking around her house, seeing what needed to be cleaned up "It's just you right?" she paused.

"Yeah, Jon's already gone ahead with Renee and Colby plans on staying at the hotel." Joe said leaning on the headrest in his rental.

"Ok, it's 9009 University Pkway. Apartment 525. Text me when you're outside."

"Alright, thanks Lyn" Joe said before hanging up.

* * *

ASHLYN

"Oh my God, what did I just agree to?" I asked myself, rubbing my hand on my forehead. "Well for starters bitch, you just invited Joe to your apartment to spend the night, you have no dinner prepared and you're in your revealing pajamas" I replied to myself, realizing everything I said was the truth.

Here I was standing in my living room in just a t-shirt and panties, bandana holding back my edges and there was nothing in the fridge to eat but leftovers and frozen pizzas.

Quickly thinking, I remembered that it only took 40 minutes from my school to my apartment. Not wanting to waste anymore time, I popped in a regular pepperoni and a regular cheese pizza before running to my bedroom to redress in my grey and pink Mickey Mouse PJ set (with a bra and without a scarf). Yeah, yeah I knew it was silly to fix myself up, but honestly the last time I saw Joe I had my makeup on. I honestly didn't want to look too natural.

In my opinion I didn't wear that much make up….…ok I'll admit I did wear concealer for my ache spots here and there, but thank God they were small and didn't last for more than a day or two after my exfoliating mask was finished kicking their ass.

With a small amount of foundation on, I put a small cat eye on to give me a sultry look. Finally done with everything else, I bolted to the guest bedroom to check for damage.

"Ok blankets, pillows, nothing that will scar him in the closet." I mumbled, checking everything over before heading back to the kitchen to check on the pizzas. For once I was glad I decided to spoil myself and get the name brand kind that actually looked like a real pizza and not that high school crap they try to pass off as food.

Just as I pulled out a knife to cut them later, I felt my phone vibrate.

 **Joe: Downstairs, guest spot alright?**

I could literally see my hands shake as I tried to text him back,

 **Yeah, that's fine. You need help?** I replied back once I got a control on my hands.

 **Joe: Nah, 525 right?**

 **Yeah** I gulped,

This was really happening, Joe Anoa'i aka Roman Reigns would be in my apartment in just a few seconds to spend the night in a room that was 5 feet away from my own. I was living the fangirl moment!

 **Joe: Be up in a minute then ;)**

Just seeing that sentence made my heart race like I was a kid who had a shit load of sugar; placing my phone on the counter I quickly took a couple of deep breaths to calm myself before I passed out.

After 10 deep breaths, I thought I was calm that was until I heard a knock on the door making my anxiety sky rocket once again.

* * *

JOE

After riding around for a minute, I saw her apartment building. Thank God it wasn't that far from the arena, I was already tired from the show; I just wanted a soft bed and maybe something to eat.

Lyn did say the bed would be a little small for me but it wasn't nothing I wasn't used to living in and out of hotel rooms with Jon and Colby for a while. Now I didn't have to worry about anybody's snoring but my own, that was unless Ashlyn snored.

I chuckled at the thought that I was gonna find out soon as I pulled into a guest parking spot. Seeing her reply back to me after telling her I was downstairs was honestly sweet. I couldn't remember the last time Janice asked to help me with my bags. I mean I could handle a duffle bag and a rolling suitcase, but still the offer was nice.

After telling her I was alright and making sure I had the right room number, I could feel my hands get a little clammy.

The last time I saw Lyn was at the show in Georgia and I'll admit she looked amazing in just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I could still hear her contagious laugh in my ears, not to mention her beautiful eyes gazing back at me.

Sighing as I grabbed my overnight bag, I saw she had messaged back saying 'yeah'. As I stepped out the car, I sent her another message before heading up.

 **Be up in a minute then ;)**

* * *

Ashlyn wrung her hands together as she approached the door. Nervously she twisted the knob and opened the door.

There, smirking down at her stood the handsome Joe Anoa'i.

"Hey Lyn" he said deeply, his eyes never leaving hers.

Lightly giggling, Ashlyn ran her hand through her hair. "Hey Joe, come on in" she said moving to the side.

Joe smirked as he entered the 2 bedroom apartment, "So where do I set my stuff?" he asked, turning to face the nervous mocha skin.

"Oh down the hall, second door on the right" she said locking the door behind her,

After Joe nodded, he headed down to the room to set down his bag. Lyn sighed as she walked back to the kitchen to grab the pizzas out of the oven and something to drink while the pizzas cooled.

* * *

ASHLYN

'Oh wow, he's just as sexy as he was the last time I saw him' I thought, slipping my Smirnoff green apple.

'Gotta stay calm, gotta stay calm. I mean we're just friends,…..he's just a very…very hot friend' I thought taking another gulp.

"Got another one?" I heard his deep voice ask behind me.

Jumping, I turned to face him smirking at me as he leaned over the edge of the counter.

"Oh….. yeah," I said pulling out another Smirnoff from the fridge, handing it to Joe.

Still smirking, Joe popped the top with his bare hand before nodding "Thanks Lyn"

Just seeing him in that relaxed stance made me feel a little relaxed about the situation, but still a little nervous on a man that hot staying in the same apartment as me.

"You hungry?" I asked, placing my drink down; replacing it for the knife to cut the pizzas.

"How could you tell?" He said smirking,

Shrugging, I started cutting the cheese pizza. "I just thought you'd probably want something since you're just getting off. Every man is hungry after a hard day at work, but sorry it's not a home cooked meal" I said glancing at Joe then back at the pizza I was cutting.

"It's alright, long as it's hot and ready. I'm not that hard to please." Joe said, shrugging himself as he watched me cut the pizzas.

"You sure? I mean I could try and make your favorite." I gigged,

Joe smirked as he snorted, "Nah, not this time. Besides, I bet you don't even remember my favorites." Joe said challenging me.

Catching his eye with my own, I smirked as I sat down the knife. "Really? You think I wouldn't know my own friend likes traditional lasagna and stuffed papayas….what were they called again?" I joked, honestly admitting that I couldn't pronounce it.

"You mean **_esi fafao_**?" Joe said raising his eyebrow at me.

"Yup, that's it!" I said pointing at the answer he gave, "I looked up the recipe the day you told me, I honestly was curious to see what it was." I said as I finished cutting the pepperoni. "So which one you want?" I said setting the knife down to get the paper plates.


	10. Play To Make You Feel Alright

**"Play" by Maurice Moore**

 **"Make You Feel" by Alina Baraz & Galimatias**

 **Enjoy & Review**

* * *

 **Joe**

 _("Play" by Maurice Moore)_

After putting my bag and jacket in the spare bedroom, I made my way back down the hallway to the kitchen. I couldn't help but chuckle at Lyn once again being shy and nervous around me. It honestly was cute on her, just like those cute shorts loosely hugging her sexy round ass.

If there ever was a time I appreciated pajama sets, it was now. Drifting my eyes up and down on her outfit as she took a drink from a bottle, I couldn't help but enjoy the view.

"Got another one?" I asked with a smirk, getting her attention.

Seeing the surprised look in her eyes somehow made those brown orbs sparkle. Curly burgundy hair bounced just right, moving her side bangs slightly over the left side of her face. I had to grip the counter just to keep from moving them away from the beautiful brown eyes I could never get out of my mind.

"Oh….. yeah," She said turning to the fridge again.

As she bent over to get it, I nearly bit my bottom lip off seeing her shorts slowly raise up, but not too much. Licking my lips, I couldn't shake the feeling that she was intentionally teasing me.

"Thanks Lyn" I replied, smirking at her.

I could already see the shiver throughout her body at the sound of my voice,

'If only she knew what _her_ voice did to me' I thought,

Yes, I was still married but after everything that happened the last time I was at home was an eye opener. The fact that my wife couldn't be trusted ran through my mind constantly. She could be doing **anything** in the house, with our 6 year old daughter not 10 feet away from her!

Just as I had the feeling of tearing my hair out, I saw her smile at me. A simple warm smile, from a beautiful understanding woman could make a man fall to his knees. And Lyn had me nearly there; she was honestly my rock in this storm. She never judged me no matter how angry I was with Janice or my job. She was still there.

Whenever I would talk or message Lyn, I would feel the warmth that Janice was suppose to give me. The comfort a husband needed from his wife, the nurturing…..the passionate…friendship.

Running my fingers through the front of my man bun, I shook my head at the thoughts. Granted, Ashlyn and I never had sex. But with her in those pajamas and me being celibate for God knows how long, I didn't know how long I was gonna last.

Just watching her do a simple task, I couldn't help but wonder how soft she would feel...the sounds she'd make... how she'd taste.

"You hungry?" She asked, pulling me not so far from my thoughts.

I smirked, thinking she could read my mind. "How could you tell?"

She had to be thinking the same thing I thought. Honestly it took nearly everything in me to not push her against the wall and see if she tasted just as sweet as she looked.

'Get a fucking grip Joe!' I shouted at myself, before focusing back on Ashlyn.

"I just thought you'd probably want something since you're just getting off. Every man is hungry after a hard day at work, but sorry it's not a home cooked meal" She said cutting the pizza.

I was hungry, but not for food. I've been a _hungry_ man for nearly 7 months and being cooped up in hotel rooms alone made it worse. Not to mention whenever Ashlyn would call, I'd get really _hungry._ But I had to remember, she was my good friend and I didn't want to lose her just because I couldn't keep it in my pants.

"It's alright, long as it's hot and ready. I'm not that hard to please." I shrugged, taking another gulp of my Smirnoff to cool off.

Hearing her giggle was like a bell from heaven. I honestly believed she was my guardian angel; a beautiful woman to help me get through something I never thought I'd experience with a person who I thought would always have my back.

Just a few days ago while I was still on the road, my mom called, talking about speaking with a lawyer when I got back. Pops, of course was against it until I had solid evidence to see about divorcing Janice. But with the phone still lost, I had nothing.

There wasn't anything set in stone yet, but just the thought of it made my heart hurt to put Jasmine through something like that.

"You sure? I mean I could try and make your favorite." Lyn said still gigging, bringing me out of my deep thoughts.

I smirked as I chuckled, "Nah, not this time. Besides, I bet you don't even remember my favorites." I said looking at her with playful glare.

Staring into her eyes, I felt my dick twitch at the look she was giving me. It was like she was taking on my challenge and the look on her face said that she was willing to play.

"Really?" she asked, setting down the knife, still giving me that look. "You think I wouldn't know my own friend likes traditional lasagna and stuffed papayas….what were they called again?" she said, pouting those sweet lips

'If only she knew what she was doing to me', I thought smirking. "You mean **_esi fafao_**?" I said raising an eyebrow at her.

Pointing at the air as if the answer was floating in front of her, Lyn smirked "Yup, that's it! I looked up the recipe the day you told me, I honestly was curious to see what it was." She said finishing up with the pizza then turned to another cabinet. "So which one you want?"

At her question, I slowly moved my eyes up and down as she stretched to reach the plates on another shelf. Seeing that she needed help, I moved up behind her to reach for the plates she wanted. As I reached for them, I purposely leaned on her, pushing her into the counter with one hand on her hip.

After grabbing the plates, I sighed as I quickly moved away from her before I did something I might regret.

 _God knows the things I would do to her,_

"I'll take the pepperoni." I said moving back to the counter to finish my drink. 'It's gonna be a long night' I thought.

* * *

Ashlyn nodded feeling cold after Joe moved back to the counter. Truthfully she wanted to go and wrap her arms around him just to feel his warmth again, but she kept in mind… 'He's married and he's your friend'

With a good drink and food, Ashlyn sat in her favorite spot on the floor while Joe took the couch.

"I can move over if you wanna sit on the couch Lyn" Joe said, finishing his first slice.

Shaking her head no, Lyn popped open her drink "Nah, I'm good Joe. I'm comfortable on the floor" she said glancing at the wrestler who gave her a pouted look.

"What?" she asked raising an eyebrow at Joe,

"Nothing," He shrugged his shoulders, "Just makes you look short" Joe mumbled, knowing Lyn would fall for his trap.

Ashlyn licked her lips as she sat down her drink; turning to Joe who was trying not to smirk as he ate his pizza.

"I'm 5'3! I'm not that short." She remarked, pouting her lips. "You're just too tall"

"Aw, Lyn are you having a _tiny_ tantrum?" Joe teased, smirking

"On the fact, that you're almost as tall as big bird? No, not really" she said rolling her eyes, giggling.

Joe smirked, placing his plate down on the side table. " **Tch** , I didn't know you had a _short_ temper" he said leaning down near Ashlyn's head.

"Are you finished Mr. Anoa'i?" Ashlyn pouted, looking up at the grey eyed man "Because you're becoming _annoying_."

"Nope, there's still plenty of room up here Ms. James. Why you sitting on the floor?" Joe asked, still teasing.

"Because I want to, so there" she said sticking her tongue out at Joe.

Deeply Joe chuckled "Alright, suit yourself" he said before picking her up and setting her on the couch next to him.

"Oh Joe!" Lyn exclaimed, playfully hitting the laughing Samoan's shoulder as she let out a laugh herself.

Smiling at his accomplishment, Joe grabbed his plate to finish his pizza.

"See, now isn't that more comfy?" he said winking at Ashlyn while she rolled her eyes.

"No" she scoffed, taking a gulp of her second Smirnoff. "I was comfortable, now I gotta squeeze onto the couch with your big ass." she teased, lightly bumping Joe.

Joe nearly choked on his pizza after hearing what Ashlyn said, "I hate to break it to ya baby girl, but….your ass is bigger than mine." He said looking down at her pump rump then back at her eyes.

"So you've been looking at my ass Joe?" Lyn replied, rolling her eyes,

Joe chuckled as he sat his finished plate on the side table again. "Well I am a man," he said moving his eyes up and down on Ashlyn. "And you are attractive"

"Oh whatever Joe," Ashlyn said lightly shoving him "I'm about as plain as a rose." She said looking down at her lap.

Joe leaned his head over as he tipped Ashlyn's head up with his hand on her chin. "What are you talking about plain?"

"I'm just saying Joe," Lyn shrugged, "Roses aren't rare, you see them more than any other flower that they look boring after while." She said trying to push her face back down, but Joe wouldn't have it.

Picking her face back up to see her brown eyes stare into his. "Lyn, you're anything but plain. You've got an amazing smile, your eyes are a warm brown anyone can fall in love with, you're doing a college major alotta women would turn down because they're worried about their hair or makeup, but not you. All you care about is the thrill of the search, not everyone can say they swam in the deepest parts of the ocean to find lost history." He said remembering Ashlyn's reason for doing what she loved.

Ashlyn licked her lips as she looked at Joe,

Just as she was about to say something, a loud boom made her jump into Joe's arms, nervously.

"Aww, Lil' Lyn's scared of thunder?" Joe chuckled, blocking another shove.

"Oh shut it Joe," Ashlyn said pulling away from Joe's arms, leaning on the other side of the couch.

Lightly pinching her sides, Joe smirked hearing Lyn squeak and jump until she slapped his hand away. "Stop that, you know I hate squeaking" Ashlyn said trying not to giggle.

"But you sound so cute when you squeak" Joe said moving over, pinching Ashlyn's side again.

Ashlyn bit her bottom lip as she tried to grab Joe's pinching fingers, but couldn't get a grip on the quick moving hands; still pinching her sides.

"Joe…Stop!" she laughed, as Joe continued to tickle her.

"I'll stop when you admit it." Joe said determined, one hand holding both of Ashlyn's wrists while the other continued to lightly pinch her.

"Admit what?" she said still squeaking at Joe's pinches until he stopped, placing his hand on her hip.

Ashlyn tried to catch her breath when Joe stopped torturing her but it was short lived as he did another soft pinch on her exposed stomach.

Watching her jump underneath him, Joe enjoyed hearing Ashlyn laugh and seeing her smile. He could joke around with her, tease her, be himself with her; pretty much what good friends would do...or what a couple would do.

Joe smiled as he looked at the burgundy haired mocha skin beauty under him as she steadied her breathing, "I want you to admit that you're anything but ordinary. You're not just a plain rose Lyn, you're rare." Joe said meaning every word.

"You mean that Joe?" Ashlyn asked seriously.

Not moving his eyes from hers, Joe leaned in; nearly touching Ashlyn's lips. "I meant every word," he said licking his lips, "Believe that"

* * *

 **ASHLYN**

"Are You Serious?!" I shouted, shoving Joe away from me. "You couldn't help yourself could you" I said angrily,

Just as I was about to believe him, he had to go and say his Roman Reigns phrase and ruin the whole thing.

"Honestly I couldn't" Joe laughed, blocking me from hitting him again. "Hey, careful I don't wanna explain to my boss that I got beat up." he said chuckling.

"Be sure to mention the fact that you got beat up by a girl" I scoffed, folding my arms under my chest. "You truly love teasing me, don't you?" I glared.

Joe shrugged before winking at me, "I do, but it's because I can be myself with you. You've never asked me for anything except for an autograph, no money, tickets, meet one of my co-workers; you just been….you" he said looking into my eyes again, this time I could tell he wasn't joking. "Thanks Lyn"

"Eh, no problem big guy," I shrugged before jumping at the sound of thunder booming again. "Not funny," I said, already hearing Joe snicker.

Another boom rang out, closer this time making me jump beside Joe; who protectively put his arm over my shoulder.

"Come here" he whispered, pulling me into his lap.

Not going against him, I laid my head on his chest as he laid back with my body between his legs. If anyone walked in, they would think we were lovers instead of friends.

But that didn't matter, this was something he promised he would do. Joe was a friend who made everything ok, even during thunder storms.

"Thanks Joe," I whispered, getting comfortable.

"No problem baby girl" he said deeply,

Sighing I closed my eyes, completely forgetting about the storm outside and was more focused on the storm grey eyes that haunted my mind.

Feeling Joe's hand rest on my lower back made me slightly stir. But I smiled as I drifted to sleep, feeling the same warmth from before.

* * *

 **JOE**

 _("Make You Feel" by Alina Baraz & Galimatias)_

 **An Hour Later**

Taking a deep sigh, as I opened my eyes. I heard a light snore coming from a body laying on my chest. Glancing down, I saw Ashlyn cuddled between my legs. I couldn't help but smirk seeing her so relaxed and naturally beautiful.

Glancing up, I saw the T.V was still on; meaning the power didn't go out. But the rain was still heavily coming down with less thunder.

'At least it was easing up' I thought looking down at the sleeping mocha skin on my chest, I noticed that she was shivering.

Remembering I saw she had a blanket draped over the back of the couch, I gently pulled the large fleece over, covering both of us.

Hearing her moan onto my chest, I gazed down at Lyn before gently rubbing my fingers over her burgundy hair. I could still remember the day she bumped into me, the way her hips swung as she walked away from me. She still swung her hips the same sexy way when I saw her at the meet and greet. Just the thought of her sexy curves, I had to slightly adjust so my bulge wouldn't wake up Ashlyn.

'Oh God that sound is gonna drive me crazy' I thought, hearing Ashlyn moan again as she shuffled a little.

As she settled back down, I rested my hand back on the middle of her back under the blanket. I bit my bottom lip as I felt her soft skin on my finger tips,

Taking a chance, I lightly raked my nails from one side of her back to the other.

'Oh God, why'd I do that?!' I thought, hearing her whimper as she shifted her arms on my shoulders with her face in the crook of my neck.

Having her head so close to me I could feel her mouth near my neck; one wrong move and I wouldn't be able to hold back. Late nights after talking to her, she never knew what her voice did to me. Fantasizing about her under me, on top of me, I didn't care where; I just wanted her.

I felt my breath get caught in my throat at the feeling of someone kissing my neck. Feeling her need, I slowly moved my hand to cup one of her soft round gluts.

"Joe" she moaned onto my neck, moving her legs to straddle me.

"Fuck... Lyn" I hissed out, my eyes nearly closing in ecstasy as she continued to suck on my neck; making me think on something else she could suck.

Feeling her lick my ear, I nearly lost it. As I gripped both sexy cheeks tightly, I could hear her lightly moan as I grinded my hips to hers.

"Joooe" she whimpered, still holding onto my neck.

"Lyn baby," I sighed, using both hands to grip her sexy cheeks; pulling her up to feel my dick outline. "If we don't stop, I'm gonna fuck the shit outta you" I confessed, feeling my dick twitch knowing she felt it too.

Ashlyn gasped, slightly pulling back to look me in my eyes. "I'm so sorry Joe….I…I didn't mean….."

"Don't be" I interrupted her, whispering huskily,

Licking my lips, I pushed my other hand behind Lyn's head. Finally tasting the lips I craved all night.


	11. Hello

**"Hello" by Adele [Joe Thomas Cover]**

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT MY OC.**

 **Enjoy & Review**

* * *

Taking a big gulp of her black coffee, a pair of green eyes still looked tired from the long day she had.

"You okay Janice?" Tiffany, a new receptionist asked.

Lightly nodding, Janice gave a small smile. "Yeah, just the hours get to ya after while" she said rubbing the bridge of her nose before looking up at the sound of a child's laugh

Glancing down the hall, Janice caught sight of a family of three. The image briefly reminded her of her own family; the laughter they used to have, the fun things they would do, they did it as a family. Now…..Joe barely blinked an eye at her, she knew she was getting old and she still had a little pudge that she tried to work off ever since Jasmine was born but that didn't mean he couldn't try to make their marriage exciting.

As she reached into her pocket for her phone, a ping of guilt made her bit her lip at the thought of contacting Joe. Janice sighed as she remembered the last time she and Joe spoke;

 _"Because I didn't want to bother you!"_

She didn't come home that night because she was so mad at him. She wanted him to worry, she wanted him to want her again. Yes she's been ignoring him, but that's because he deserved it. As the years grew by with Joe in the WWE, their marriage was anything but what she wanted. She missed Joe's laugh, the way he would do sweet little things for her and Jasmine for no reason at all, the way he would hold her after they made love.

She just wanted a little chase, a little jealousy; was it so wrong for a woman to feel wanted by her husband?

Janice took a deep breath as she dialed Joe's number. He would be upset but once she would explain, then things might go the way she wanted them to; before he traveled, before he left her all alone with their daughter.

 ** _"Hey it's Joe. I can't come to the phone right now. Leave your name and number and I'll get back to later."_**

"Hey Joe, it's me. I was wondering if we could talk later…...Ok, bye" she whispered, before hanging up.

Checking the time, Janice saw it was 11pm.

'He's probably asleep' She thought, about to put her phone back in her pocket. Feeling it vibrate, Janice quickly pulled her phone back out and saw it was a message; but not from Joe.

 **Room 378 is clear; need a little cream for your coffee? ;)**

Lightly smirking, Janice replied that she indeed needed some cream before putting her phone back in her pocket.

Yes, she was married to the amazingly handsome Roman Reigns but the thoughts and photos of other females touching him wasn't what she signed up for when she said I do.

Whenever Joe went on the road, she did miss him but late at night she got lonely. She had needs too. But until Joe agreed to taking a test every time he came home, she would hold out…..at least from him.

Was it so wrong for a woman to feel wanted?


	12. Author Announcement

**HELLO HELLO EVERYONE!**

 **THIS IS JUST A BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENT THAT I'M HAVING TROUBLE WITH MY LAPTOP AND MY USB THAT HOLDS** **ALL** **OF MY STORIES.**

 **I AM SOOO SOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING THE LAST TIME I WAS ON HERE, BUT I HAD THE BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH AND THE SH!T HIT THE FAN FROM THERE.**

 **SO AT THIS POINT I WON'T BE UPDATING FOR A MINUTE, BUT I MIGHT CREATE NEW ONES FROM SCRATCH.**

 **PLEASE ALL MY P.S.B FANS AND FOLLOWERS BE PATIENT WITH ME, I'M JUST AS UPSET AS YOU ARE THAT I LEFT "Just A Friend" ON A CLIFFHANGER AS WELL AS "Hiding In Plain Sight" & "Wrong Number". I TRULY AM TRYING TO GET THE SAVED VERSION BUT IF I HAVE TO I WILL JUST START FROM WHERE I LEFT OFF. I HONESTLY DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE Y'ALL HANGING THIS LONG. **

**JUST TO CLARIFY: MY LAPTOP IS BUSTED, MY USB DRIVE (HOLDING MY STORIES HOSTAGE) HATES ME AND MY SONG LIST HAS DISAPPEARED FROM MY PHONE.**

 **BUT FRET NOT, I SHALL RETURN WITH** **UPDATES!** **!**

 **ONCE AGAIN I DO APOLOGIZE GUYS, BUT SEND GOOD VIBES SO I CAN CONQUER THIS HORRIFIC BATTLE.**

 **~P.S.B~**


	13. Author Note: I'm Back!

**Christmas came a little early guys! I'm baaaack! And with a new laptop, new music-lists and UPDATES! I've missed you all. My fans who favorite, reviewed, and/or followed; I love you all and your well wishes were answered. During my time away, I got a raise which lead me to DUN –DUN- DUUUUUH, a new laptop! I've been drinking so much Pepsi to think up and bring you all new stories and more chapters to my previous ones. I have sooooo many new stories for y'all, thank you for still being there for me. Thank you, thank you and THANK YOU!**

 **Special thanks to my reviewers:**

 **squawswarpath**

 **Cotton Blossom Diva**

 **Mlle. Mystere**

 **caz21**

 **Kaidence**

 **Ctinaisfashion**

 **Allison**

 **Leah Tatyana Nicole**

 **kyanaM**

 **grrlygrrl**

 **Wmcschick2006**

 **IRENELOVE83**

 **(Ms.)Dbz4life**

 **sebastianm101**

 **calwitch**

 **Rainbowbrite0006**

 **Raquel the writer**

 **& Guests **

**All your reviews have brightened my day and kept me going. A lot of them have made me blush and laugh; all I can say to you guys is thank you and keep up the love. These new stories and chapters will blow your mind.**

 **Oh and let me address this, my sister is finally on here and will be doing majority Anime stories. Sometimes others but she's still unsure about what she'll post. If you do read Anime, please show my little sis (SweetAsABerry) some love and support (when she finally gets over her fear & post something up).**

 **Thanks again y'all. Peace & blessings**

 **~P.S.B~**


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